Surat: After serving more than nine months in prison, Patidar reservation spearhead Hardik Patel on Friday emerged from the Lajpore Jail in Surat.
Patel received a hero`s welcome by hundreds of supporters, some holding posters that read "Gabbar is Back".
After stepping out of the jail, Patel told reporters that he has vowed to continue his agitation to get reservation for his community under the OBC quota.
In an apparent reference to Prime Minister Narendra Modi's '56-inch-chest' remark made during 2014 election campaign, Hardik said, "I want to say that I don't want height, weight or a 56-inch chest. All I want is rights for my community."
"Our agitation will continue in coming days. Our demand for OBC status for Patels is still there. In coming days, there will be a change in the style of our working, but, our attitude (tevar) will remain the same," Patel said.
He was released today 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.
The high court has allowed Hardik Patel to stay in the state for two days to visit his house to collect his belongings. However, the court declined his request to visit the temple of family deity in Unjha town in Mehsana.
Dinesh Bamaniya, a leader of Patidar Anamat Andolan Samiti, 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.
Hardik Patel has several times in the past said he would continue his agitation in a peaceful manner and was not agreeable to the 10 percent quota announced by the Anandiben Patel government to economically backward classes among the non-reserved category of communities.
(With IANS inputs)
