‘Have you seen Adani’s son stand in bank queues’: Hardik Patel on note ban

A day after the BJP registered an emphatic victory in the Gujarat local body polls, Patidar leader Hardik Patel said the outcome will have no bearing on the assembly elections due next year. In a telephonic interview to Deep Mukherjee, the leader also spoke about how one did not see the ‘son of Adani’ standing in queues after demonetisation and his plans post-exile.

Despite speculation that BJP has lost a large chunk of its vote bank, they dominated the local polls. Are you surprised?

Not at all. The places where the BJP has won are the party’s traditional strongholds. The BJP has got ample money and muscle power and it’s obvious that they have won the elections with the same dictatorial attitude.

What do you mean by dictatorial attitude? Do you think the poll results are indicative that the BJP is still strong in the state?

By dictatorial attitude, I mean the divide-and-rule policy adopted by the BJP. I see the election results as a perfect example of how money and muscle power helps the BJP garner votes. I don’t think these results will have an impact on the assembly elections.

You criticised the note ban move. Why do you think it’s a bad move?

Have you seen Adani’s son standing in bank queues? We are against graft but the way the step was executed left the common men in jeopardy.

Do you think demonetisation will also have an impact on the spending of parties such as the BJP in Gujarat?

The people of Gujarat are unhappy with the BJP. Their party fund comes only from big companies. Often the party funds are collected by threatening people and even their national president has faced such allegations in the past.