Hardik Patel quits Congress, Chicken sandwich swipe at Rahul Gandhi

Amid the ongoing tussle in the Gujarat Congress unit, Patidar leader Hardik Patel resigned from the party on Wdnesday. He took to Twitter to announce his decision and shared an image of his resignation. While launching a scathing attack on Congress's senior leadership, Hardik Patel in his letter said that the "big leaders of Congress in Gujarat are far away from issues of the state but are more focussed on ensuring that chicken sandwich for leaders who have come from Delhi is delivered on time!" Hardik Patel's resignation letter to Congress president Sonia Gandhi aimed several zingers at Rahul Gandhi, who did not meet with him separately during his recent Gujarat visit. "When I met top leaders, they seemed distracted by their mobile phones and other issues as opposed to listening to issues concerning Gujarat," wrote Hardik Patel. "Senior leaders in Gujarat are more interested in ensuring that visiting leaders get their chicken sandwiches than engaging with people during yatras," he commented.

According to reports, Hardik Patel did not participate in Congress's Chintan Shivir that took place in Udaipur recently. The Congress leadership "strongly dislikes Gujarat and has no interest in the state", he said, adding that the party "has been rejected in virtually every state because they have no roadmap to present to the people." Gujarat Congress leader Shaktisinh Gohil tore into Hardik Patel, reminding him of his criticism of the BJP in the past. He accused the BJP of using agencies like the CBI, Enforcement Directorate and Income Tax to target Congress leaders and force them to quit.