BJP's 'Hitlershahi' can't stop my fight: Hardik Patel

Ahmedabad: Patidar community leader Hardik Patel during at road show for the second phase of state assembly elections, in Ahmedabad on Monday. PTI Photo by Santosh Hirlekar (PTI12_11_2017_000084B) *** Local Caption ***

Patidar quota agitation leader Hardik Patel today said the BJP's "Hitlershahi" cannot prevent him from fighting for "truth, farmers, youth and poor", soon after he was awarded a two-year jail term in connection with a rioting case.

A sessions court in Visnagar town of Gujarat's Mehsana district today sentenced Hardik Patel and two of his aides -- Lalji Patel and A K Patel -- to two years imprisonment in a case of rioting and arson lodged against him and 16 others in July 2015. Later, the three were granted bail by the same court.

While the court held the three persons guilty of rioting, arson, damage to property and unlawful assembly, it let off the other 14 accused for want of enough evidence against them.

Soon after the court verdict, Patel tweeted in Hindi, "If it is a sin to fight for social justice and rights, then I am a sinner. If those who fight for the truth and rights are rebels, then I am a rebel. BJP's Hitlershahi cannot suppress my fight for truth, farmers, youth and poor by putting me behind bars."

The quota agitation leader said he is not daunted by the sentence as he is already walking in the shroud of death.

25-year-old Patel is leading an agitation for reservation for members of his Patidar community in government jobs and educational institutes and has been booked in many cases, including that of sedition.

Asserting that he will continue to fight for the oppressed, he said jails do not scare him and he will remain unstoppable.

"I am not scared of jails. I should have stayed back home if it was my fight alone. But this is the fight of crores of poor people. My fate is to fight the oppressor and fight for rights. The more you suppress me, the more I will rise to pose a challenge," he said in a series of tweets.