Gujarat Chief Minister Anandiben Patel on Saturday called on Prime Minister Narendra Modi and discussed the political situation, Patidar reservation issue, and putative reshuffle of the state cabinet with him. According to sources, she had a two-hour meeting with the Prime Minister to discuss ‘a range of issues’ related to the State.
“Cabinet reshuffle is due because Cabinet Minister Vijay Rupani has taken over as the state party president. The Chief Minister is likely to induct a few faces from the rural areas after the local election in which the BJP was almost wiped out in the panchayats,” a BJP insider told The Hindu .
Secondly, the State government has been trying to strike a compromise with the Patidar community, which has been agitating for quotas. Last year, the quota agitation had turned violent, forcing the government to call in army. Eleven persons were killed in police firing.
“We are trying for a compromise and likely to meet the representatives of the Patel community over the quota and other demands they have put before the government,” Gujarat government spokesman and Health Minister Nitin Patel said on Saturday. The meeting is likely to take place next week.
Another issue that figured at the meeting was drought and rural distress. More than a dozen districts are reeling under severe drought which has created agrarian crisis in Saurashtra and north Gujarat.
The State has declared 1,150 villages in eight districts as scarcity-hit and has started preparations to launch drought-relief works.
