Gujarat’s Patidar community, which has been seeking OBC reservation for over three years now, is in the limelight again for a business summit organised by the Sardardham Vishwa Patidar Kendra. The Global Patidar Business Summit which commenced on Friday, 5 January and concluded on Sunday, 7 January at Mahatma Mandir in Gandhinagar, was the first of its kind event organised by the community.
The summit was organised on the lines of the biannual Vibrant Gujarat Summit organised by the state government, and was inaugurated by Chief Minister Vijay Rupani and Deputy Chief Minister Nitin Patel on Friday.
The event saw over 10,000 businessmen from the Patidar community pledge to provide jobs to a million youths from the community by 2026 on the opening day of the Global Patidar Business Summit in Gandhinagar.
The first day of the event witnessed a fairly average response. However, as the weekend rolled in, young Patidars from across the state flocked to Gandhinagar to attend the summit.
Speaking on the occasion, Chief Minister Vijay Rupani lauded the Patidar community and said, “Sardardham is doing what the state government is supposed to do. It is the government’s responsibility to create jobs. I am glad the community has taken up that responsibility. This initiative would surely motivate other communities to work in this direction. Patidars and their contribution are at the core of Gujarat’s development. This event will guide people to become job givers and not just job seekers, and the state government is always with you.”
Under our `Mission 2026’, around 10,000 Patidar businessmen who have come here will take up the task of giving jobs to around 10 lakh Patel youths after providing them required training. This will also ease the burden on the state government.Gagjibhai Sutariya, president of Sardardham
Gujarat BJP President Jitu Vaghani, Energy Minister Saurabh Patel and Congress’ newly-appointed Congress Legislature Party (CLP) and Amreli MLA Paresh Dhanani were also present on the occasion.
The Sardardham also signed memorandums of understanding (MoUs) with several Patidar organisations to start coaching centres for IAS-IPS aspirants from the community, industrial training centres and legal guidance centres, among others. Sardardham has promised to invest generously for setting up of hostels for Patidar youths from rural and semi-urban areas.
The summit saw Patidar businessmen take part in interactive sessions, business-to-business meetings and attend seminars held by successful businessmen and management gurus.
A new organisation, Global Patidar Trade & Industries Organisation, was also floated on the sidelines of the summit which saw bulk registration from Patidar business firms from across the state.
The event is scheduled to be held every two years.
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