Hardik Patel, the 22-year old leader of Gujarat’s powerful Patel community has threatened to disrupt the India-South Africa cricket match due in Rajkot on Sunday, as par media reports/
Mr Patel, who wants job and educational quotas to be extended to his largely affluent and politically influential community, said his followers would block the way of Indian and South African cricket teams to the Rajkot stadium on the match day.
The third one-day international match of the Gandhi-Mandela series will be played on October 18.
The Patel community members will cordon off Saurashtra Cricket Association stadium in Khanderi village on outskirts of Rajkot city as tickets were allegedly not sold to his community members, he said.
Reports said police have made elaborate security arrangements after the threat and decided to fortify the stadium and the city with large deployment to ensure smooth conduct of the match. The showdown is seen as crucial for Prime Minister Narendra Modi to win.
Police will deploy three unmanned aerial vehicle (UAVs) and install 90 CCTV cameras for security purposes. Both the Indian and South Africa teams arrived in the city on Thursday and will practise on the ground on Saturday.
“Saurashtra Cricket Association (SCA) should clarify on why they declared that all tickets are sold in spite of the fact that many tickets yet remain unsold,” Mr Patel, convener of Patidar Anamat Andolan Samiti (PAAS), said.
“PAAS will block the way of both the teams to the stadium and we will also cordon the entire stadium,” he said.
“The (Modi) government was saying till now that the match should not be turned into an agitation venue, but now this government is itself playing politics over the match,” he said.
