'Will take Hardik's agitation to national level'
Ahmedabad, Sep 4 : Former Union Minister Yashwant Sinha and BJP MP Shatrughan Sinha on Tuesday called on fasting Patidar agitation leader Hardik Patel and said that they will take his agitation over the demand for reservation for Patels and farm debt waiver to the national level.
On Energy Minister Saurabh Patel's remarks that Hardik's indefinite fast was backed by the opposition Congress and that the state was doing its best for the Patel community and farmers, Shatrughan Sinha said that all political parties were supporting the fasting leader.
"The whole country is moved by Hardik's fast, except the governments at the Centre and the state," Yashwant Sinha told reporters. Yashwant Sinha resigned from the BJP in April.
Both leaders said they had extended support to Hardik on his demands.
"The farmers issues raised by Hardik are not confined to Gujarat but are relevant to the whole country. Farmers are in deep distress and the situation requires a permanent solution. I appeal to everyone, including the opposition, to raise the issues of farmers across the country," Yashwant Sinha said.
Rubbishing Prime Minister Narendra Modi's claims that Gujarat was a model state, Shatrughan Sinha said there was nothing like a Gujarat model. "The Gujarat model has failed. Now, you are not going to get bonus (in 2019 elections)," he said.
According to medical reports, Hardik has lost around 20kg ever since he began his fast 11 days ago and his condition continues to deteriorate.
Meanwhile, Gujarat's six religious organisations of the Patels discussed the issues arising out of Hardik's agitation and offered to mediate or help him end his fast. Their leaders later in the evening rushed to state capital Gandhinagar for a meeting with BJP Ministers from the community to discuss the situation.
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Ladakh leaders welcome Wangchuk's release, demand others' freedom
New Delhi (PTI): Leaders from Ladakh on Saturday welcomed climate activist Sonam Wangchuk's release from Jodhpur jail and demanded the release of remaining detainees.
Wangchuk was released from prison on Saturday after the Union government revoked his detention with immediate effect.
Ladakh MP Mohamad Hanifa hailed his release and urged the government to accept their demands for statehood and protection under the Sixth Schedule of the Constitution.
"We welcome the release of Sonam Wangchuk. But others also need to be released, and the government should also take back the cases filed against people who participated in the protests," Hanifa told PTI.
The Union Home Ministry, in its statement, commented on the law and order situation in the Union Territory.
"... prevailing atmosphere of bandhs and protests has been detrimental to the peace-loving character of the society and has adversely affected various sections of the community, including students, job aspirants, businesses, tour operators and tourists and overall economy," it said.
Hanifa, however, said protest is a Constitutional right, and urged the government to resolve the issue through dialogue.
"If our voice is not heard in any other way, then there is another way to protest. We have always protested peacefully from day one, and we believe in peaceful protests. This is to make our voice reach the government," he said.
"We have always said that we want a solution to these issues through dialogue," he said.
Kargil-based politician and Kargil Democratic Alliance (KDA) member Sajjad Kargili, in a post on X, demanded the immediate release of Deldan Namgial and Smanla Dorjey, and appealed to the government to drop all charges against other detainees unconditionally.
"The revocation of NSA against Shri Sonam Wangchuk is a welcome move. However, our struggle of our legitimate rights continues," he said.
Wangchuk was detained on September 26, 2025, two days after protests over demands for statehood for Ladakh and its inclusion under the Sixth Schedule of the Constitution rocked Leh.
More than 45 people, including 22 policemen, were injured in the protests.
