Quota row: More Patels withdraw bank deposits

Ahmedabad: The 'economic non-cooperation' by Patels for OBC reservation demand spread today as the community members queued up in large numbers at a bank in Sabarkantha district to withdraw money.

Even as the Patel community people recently banned the entry of politicians in their villages, the Hardik Patel-led Patidar Anamat Andolan Samiti (PAAS- which is spearheading the quota stir) has also called upon the women to protest at the venues of any official government or BJP function.

This led to protests by Patel community members, including women, today at many places in the state, including Jamnagar, Surendranagar, Amreli, Bharuch and Himmatnagar districts.

The Patel community residents of Kherol village under Talod taluka in Sabarkantha today withdrew their money from a co-operative bank.

"Around 200 members of the Patel community, who are associated with the agitation, today came to our bank to withdraw their money," branch manager of Sabarkantha District Cooperative Bank in Kherol village, Rakesh Mehta told PTI.

"We could not give them entire money, which is around Rs nine crore from three thousand account-holders of the Patel community, so we just gave them around Rs ten lakh today," Mehta said.

The bank manager said he assured the Patel community members, who were led by former sarpanch of Kherol village Kamlesh Patel, that the bank will return their entire money day-after-tomorrow.

The Patel leaders demanding reservation for their community under OBC quota had earlier made an appeal to the people to withdraw money from banks to give a message to the state government, as they claimed that the government has turned deaf ears to their demand of reservation.

In Vadodara also some prominent Patel community members withdrew money from bank. "I have withdrawn Rs 10 lakhs fixed deposit. Government is using our money through banking channel. Now they cannot use that," Vadodara resident Kanti Patel said.

Yesterday, a sum of Rs 20 lakh was withdrawn in a day from a cooperative bank in Vadrad village of Sabarkantha.