Arvind Kejriwal meets Patidar agitator families, labels BJP oppressive

Ahmedabad: Amid the ongoing Patidar agitation in Gujarat, Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal visited the families of deceased Patidar Anamat Andolan Samiti (PAAS) pro-reservationists Girish and Siddharth and asked the Gujarat government to severely punish the politician who gave shooting orders to the police.

The two died in police firing during a massive rally in Ahmedabad in August last year.

"It is a tendency of the Bharatiya Janata Party to oppress the people and whoever opposes them. We have met with the families of Girish and Siddharth, and as you can see, we have met numerous agitator families who have been murdered, and the one thing coming out, is that the agitators were armless when the police fired. I honestly believe it is a murder, because they were innocent," Kejriwal said.

"Whichever leader has given the order to fire, he should be punished, so that the agitator families get justice," he added.

He said, "There are numerous agitator families where no one is earning money, the agitator family survivors have a daughter and a wife who get only four lakh rupees as concession from the government which is useless".

"So, it is our request to the Government of India to release the right compensation to the agitator families. I have talking to an agitator daughter whose school annual fees is Rupees three lakhs. From where are they supposed to get it, give them the right amount of money so that they can survive and stand on their feet? It is the government`s duty to take care of these families," he said.

"Protests are taking place under the watch of BJP president Amit Shah and they will continue. Our Gujarat leader Gulab Singh has been arrested on charges of conspiracy which is non-bailable. Basically, it has proved that the BJP is scared, and now is oppressing the agitators like they did in Gujarat and Delhi. The nation will rise up and oppose this oppression.