Hardik out of jail, gets hero’s welcome

Surat, July 15 (IANS) Patidar leader Hardik Patel emerged from the Lajpore Jail here on Friday after over nine months to a hero’s welcome by hundreds of supporters, some holding posters that read "Gabbar is Back".

Patel was released after the Gujarat High Court granted him bail in two sedition and one arson-related cases that were slapped when he lead a mass agitation demanding job quotas for the Patel community.

His bail was approved on the condition that he stays out of Gujarat for six months and for three months after that in another case.

Dinesh Bamaniya, a leader of Patidar Anamat Andolan Samiti and a close aide of Hardik Patel, said Hardik Patel had decided to spend the next six months at Udaipur in Rajasthan since it was closer to Gujarat.

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.

The 23-year-old Hardik Patel is expected to cover 2,150 km in the next 48 hours, addressing 12 public meetings, seven roadshows and two major rallies, PAAS spokesperson Brijesh Patel said.

“He will roughly address 1.5 million people in these two days in Surat, Rajkot, Botad and Viramgam, his hometown," Brijesh Patel said.