Gujarat: Hardik Patel draws up will as fast enters ninth day
He left his assets to his parents and sister, a cow shelter and the families of 14 Patidars who were killed during the community’s a quota agitation in 2015.
Patidar leader Hardik Patel, who has been fasting for the last nine days, on Sunday said he has prepared his will, reported The Hindu. Patel started his fast-unto-death on August 25 to demand reservation for his community under the Other Backward Class category and a farm loan waiver.
Patel named his parents and sister, a gaushala (cow shelter) and the kin of the 14 Patidars who died during the quota agitation in 2015 as his inheritors. According to the will, Patel has a car, a life insurance policy and Rs 50,000 cash. “He has declared that Rs 20,000 will go to his parents and the rest to a gaushala in Virpur near Rajkot city,” the Hindustan Times quoted Patidar Anamat Andolan Samiti Convener Manoj Panara as saying.
Hardik Patel added that he was expecting to earn royalty worth crores of rupees from an upcoming biography, Who Took My Job. Of this money, 15% will go to his parents, 15% to his sister and the remaining 70% to the families of Patidars killed in the 2015 clashes. He also announced that his eyes will be donated after his death.
Patel and other leaders of his outfit fear that his health may deteriorate as the Bharatiya Janata Party-ruled state government has not responded to his demands. “It is possible that in the next 24 to 48 hours, he might not be able to in a position to speak or walk. So, he has timely declared his will,” Panara told The Indian Express.
Several Congress leaders have visited him at his Ahmedabad home. Political outfits such as the Nationalist Congress Party, the Trinamool Congress, the Rashtriya Janata Dal and the Aam Aadmi Party have extended their support to the Patidar leader. Gujarat’s Leader of Opposition Paresh Dhanani criticised the state government for neglecting farmers and others. “If the state government had waived farm loans, Hardik would not have had to go on fast,” he added.