Ahmedabad, Apr 19 (NIE): Patidar quota leader Hardik Patel on Wednesday chose the largest urban Muslim neighbourhood of Juhapura in Gujarat to extend his support to the protest against the cases of rapes in Kathua (Jammu & Kashmir), Unnao (UP) and Surat as he addressed a large crowd at the end of two brief rallies, along with Congress MLAs Gyasuddin Shaikh and Imran Khedawala.

“This is not about Juhapura, neither about Hindus or Muslims, but daughters and mothers of the country,” Patel said from a small makeshift platform opposite Gandhi Hall as he addressed the crowd. “Living people try to break us, but the dead rape victim of Kathua has united us,” he added.

Earlier in the day, he joined the protesters of Juhapura and Sarkhej areas. “The only demand is justice for the victims,” said Anishbhai Desai from Ahmedabad Task Force, the organisation that claims to have brought political and non-political representations on one platform to protest against the increasing incidents of rape in the country.

“There has been so many rape cases recently. Today, it is somebody, tomorrow it could be any from us. I am concerned about my five daughters,” said 35-year-old Husna Sheikh, a resident of Sarkhej, who had also joined the protest. A 40-year-old mother of two daughters, Ruksana Sheikh, added, “Sab betiyan Hindustan ki betiyan hain. Ye Hindu ya Muslim ki ladai nahi hai (All the girls are daughters of India. This is not about the fight of Hindus or Muslims)”.