On Friday, the Gujarat High Court granted Hardik Patel bail in the two sedition cases booked against him in Ahmedabad and Surat, one of the conditions being that he should stay out of Gujarat for six months.
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Hardik, who had spearheaded the agitation for quota, was arrested in October previous year three months after he launched it in July.
Hardik stepped out of jail after nine months of confinement and vowed to continue his agitation, saying he does not want a “56-inch chest, but rights for his community”.
While Patel maintained that his agitation is non-political, veteran Gujjar leader from Rajasthan, Himat Singh Gujjar, dissident Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) legislator Nalin Kotadiya and Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) leader Jayant Boski greeted him on his release from prison.
“Our agitation will continue. In coming days, there will be a change in the style of our working, but, our attitude (tevar) will remain the same”, Patel said.
Before he embarked on a roadshow through the Surat city, he warned all political parties against taking political benefits out of the agitation. I don’t want a well-built body. Eleven girl from different communitites welcomed Hardik Patel with a tilak ceremony.
Contrary to Hardik, his co-accused in the sedition case, Dinesh Bhambhaniya, Chirag Patel, Ketan Patel, Alpesh Kapetiya and Amrish Patel from PAAS who got bail earlier, have been confined to Gujarat.
According to Hardik, the doors for discussion with the state government are open. Patel community has always stood by Hardik and his agitation for our community.
“As soon as I learnt that the court asked Hardik to stay out of Gujarat for six months, I sent an invitation to his supporters and invited Hardik to stay at my house in Udaipur”. Hardik’s mega rally on reservation held in Ahmedabad on August 25 a year ago had sparked violence, in which 10 people, including a policeman, were killed and public properties and vehicles destroyed across Gujarat.
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Elaborate arrangements have been made by his supporters to make the most of the two days has been allowed to stay in Gujarat after release.
