It was supposed to be a 'sneh milan' of conveneres, and co-conveners of Patidar Anamat Andolan Samiti (PAAS) and their families. But soon scuffle erupted after some young supporters of PAAS leader Alpesh Kathiriya questioned his absence from the banners.

The event held at Gota in Ahmedabad began at 5 pm, but in an hour's time, members supporting Kathiriya and those supporting Hardik came to blows. Kathiriya supporters wanted to know why his pictures were not put up in the banners, and why was a 'Congress' event being held under the banner of PAAS.

A supporter who witnessed the clash said that after some people demanded that Kathiriya pictures to be included in the banners, supporters of Hardik began beating them up. They even labelled them as BJP supporters. "We have no problem with Hardik joining Congress, that is his personal choice. But this is an event of the community, and people are free to raise concerns associated with the community.

Since Hardik has joined Congress it is Kathiriya who is now the face of the community. But those who questioned this, were beaten up by others who accused them of working at BJP's behest," said the supporter. Hardik himself was seen calming people down as the situation went out of hand. The police also rushed to the spot but no complaint was registered at the time of going to print.

Dharmik Malaviya, PAAS Convener from Surat said that it was a minor scuffle which was blown out of proportion. "A few young supporters wanted to know why Kathiritya's pictures were missing but soon people gathered resulting in a minor scuffle. But it was all resolved within minutes," said Malaviya. When asked about Kathiriya's missing pictures, he said, "Katiritya's pictures were not there even in earlier events of PAAS. This is because Hardik was the face of the agitation. Many of these events always had Hardik's pictures," said Malaviya.

ALPESH KATHIRIYA