Hardik Says He Got Late & Stayed at Hotel, Denies Meeting Rahul

“If I want to meet him, I don’t have to do so secretly”, said Hardik Patel.

Hardik Patel.

(Photo: IANS)

UPDATE: Following Ahmedabad police commissioner AK Singh’s denial of Ashok Gehlot’s allegations of spying at the Ummed Hotel, The Quint reached out to the hotel’s chief security officer, Vikram Singh Shekhawat. He confirmed that the police asked for CCTV footage from the hotel, for security reasons, and this was then provided to them.

The Quint has also sent a detailed questionnaire to the Gujarat police and secretariat, asking for clarifications on whether they made any inquiries at the hotel, or took away the CCTV footage from the hotel, and if so, on what grounds this was done. We will update this story as and when we receive a response.

The political atmosphere in Gujarat turned all the more tense after local Gujarati TV channels showed CCTV grabs of Patel entering a luxury hotel around 2 am and leaving after Rahul Gandhi had checked in there.

However, brushing away any assumption of meeting Rahul, Hardik Patel said, “I did not meet Rahul Gandhi. I will meet when he comes next. And if I want to meet him, I don't have to do so secretly. I am not meeting a terrorist, or meeting Nawaz Sharif at midnight like Narendra Modi did.”

The Congress leaders had invited me to meet them but I was at a rally in Mahisagar district. I reached very late, may be 3 am, and met Ashok Gehlot. I presented the demands of the Patidars and the issues we are concerned about. It was very late, so I put up at the hotel and left in the morning.

Hardik Patel

Also Read: BJP Can’t Buy Gujarat, People Will Avenge the Insult: Hardik Patel

Meanwhile, former Rajasthan Chief Minister and Congress leader Ashok Gehlot tweeted that the hotel rooms booked in his name were being checked by Intelligence Bureau and questioned “what was happening in Gandhi’s Gujarat”.

He tweeted that he did meet Hardik Patel and Jignesh Mevani, following which the rooms booked under his name were checked.

Gehlot questioned if Patel and Mevani were considered “criminals or absconders” and that the BJP must clear its stand.

Also Read: Hardik Patel’s Key Aides Reshma, Varun Patel Join Gujarat BJP

In his tweet storm, he asserted that when they met BJP leaders, their offices weren’t checked but asked why was the hotel room being checked.

Why CCTV footage was taken by the IB and the police from the hotel? Is the right to privacy the sole proprietorship of Jay Shah?

Ashok Gehlot

Earlier in the day he tweeted that he was “fully sure” that colleagues and supporters of Patel, Mevani and Alpesh Thakore will do “ their best to ensure that Gujarat people get rid of ill governance of BJP”.

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