Click to Expand & PlayAhmedabad: Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi will end his sadbhavna fast at 5.30 pm today.
As on the last two days, big crowds and some political celebrities are expected at the Gujarat University Convention Hall where the Chief Minister is fasting. Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) chief Raj Thackeray is there and top BJP leader Sushma Swaraj is expected to join Mr Modi later in the day. A pantheon of BJP leaders and those of some allied parties have shared stage with Modi who began his fast on Saturday, which was also his 61st birthday.
Some allies have been conspicuous by their absence. Particularly the JD (U), which has questioned his national acceptability. "Modi has failed to discharge Rajdharma in Gujarat...when he can't do justice with five crore people of a state, how will he be able to deliver justice to 125 crore of the country?" PTI quoted JD(U) spokesperson Shivanand Tiwari as saying. Mr Tiwari said, "There is still a sense of fear and insecurity among the people in Gujarat," and also that he found "the body language of Modi during his speech in Hindi after beginning his fast full of arrogance."
There is no comment from Nitish Kumar, the man the JD(U) sees as the rightful aspirant for the job that many say Mr Modi has set out to get with his attempt at an image makeover - the Prime Minister's post at the head of an NDA government. Asked about Mr Modi's mission, Mr Kumar bowed his head, folded his hands and walked away.
But there has been no lack of criticism from many other quarters for Mr Modi over the weekend as he launched the grand show in an overt effort to gain wider political acceptance to prepare for the national stage. The Congress has called his fast a "drama" and six km away from his air-conditioned venue, Congress veteran Shankarsinh Vaghela sniggers and wants to know why the Gujarat Chief Minister will not fast for a full 72 hours to make it a three-day fast as he had promised. Mr Vaghela, who is on a counter-fast at the Gandhi Ashram - one that pointedly began an hour before Mr Modi's did on Saturday - will break his fast at 10 am on Tuesday.
Gujarat riot victims have slammed the fast as a spectacle to whitewash Mr Modi's image. Sunday, Day 2 of his fast, saw much action with the police detaining riot victims and activists Mallika Sarabhai and Mukul Sinha in Naroda Patiya as they protested against the CM's fast. Naroda Patiya, about 8 km from the fast site, had witnessed the worst riots incident in 2002, when more than 90 people were killed.
The BJP's quick defence in spokesperson Prakash Javedekar's words: "There is a gang that is defaming Gujarat for the last one decade and they are doing it for their own political purpose, but they are getting defeated everywhere. People are coming so it is not just one person (Vastanvi) who is speaking the truth about the people of Gujarat. It is about thousands of Muslims who are doing it and participating in it. It's for a political purpose and a mischievous campaign and just to disturb and distort for which the police has to take a call."
The 2002 Gujarat riots remain the one big blemish on Mr Modi's career, and with his amity mission, fast to promote communal harmony and open letters to the people of his state, many say the Gujarat Chief Minister's attempt for sadbhavna is a careful image-altering exercise as he gets set for the national stage in the next Lok Sabha elections.
Mr Modi reached out to a fair sprinkling of Muslims at his fast and spoke of inclusive plans. But his attempt at emerging as the first among equals in the BJP needs acceptance across the political spectrum. Though the Akali Dal and the AIADMK backed Modi's fast, he faces stiff competition for the top job from ally JD(U) who doesn't back him as Nitish Kumar is a claimant for the same job.
The fast was the result of a defining last week for the Gujarat Chief Minister. The Supreme Court transferred a Gujarat-riots-related case to a lower court in the state and Narendra Modi tweeted, "God is Great". Suddenly, from a US think tank to BJP patriarch LK Advani, there was talk about Narendra Modi, possible future Prime Minister.
The three-day fast is all about Modi. He is the actor, director and script writer of the show. There are no BJP flags, no hoardings with smiling faces of Vajpayee, Advani and Gadkari. It signals that there is room for just one leader at the top in the party. Modi has taken the head start saying two is a crowd.
As on the last two days, big crowds and some political celebrities are expected at the Gujarat University Convention Hall where the Chief Minister is fasting. Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) chief Raj Thackeray is there and top BJP leader Sushma Swaraj is expected to join Mr Modi later in the day. A pantheon of BJP leaders and those of some allied parties have shared stage with Modi who began his fast on Saturday, which was also his 61st birthday.
Some allies have been conspicuous by their absence. Particularly the JD (U), which has questioned his national acceptability. "Modi has failed to discharge Rajdharma in Gujarat...when he can't do justice with five crore people of a state, how will he be able to deliver justice to 125 crore of the country?" PTI quoted JD(U) spokesperson Shivanand Tiwari as saying. Mr Tiwari said, "There is still a sense of fear and insecurity among the people in Gujarat," and also that he found "the body language of Modi during his speech in Hindi after beginning his fast full of arrogance."
There is no comment from Nitish Kumar, the man the JD(U) sees as the rightful aspirant for the job that many say Mr Modi has set out to get with his attempt at an image makeover - the Prime Minister's post at the head of an NDA government. Asked about Mr Modi's mission, Mr Kumar bowed his head, folded his hands and walked away.
But there has been no lack of criticism from many other quarters for Mr Modi over the weekend as he launched the grand show in an overt effort to gain wider political acceptance to prepare for the national stage. The Congress has called his fast a "drama" and six km away from his air-conditioned venue, Congress veteran Shankarsinh Vaghela sniggers and wants to know why the Gujarat Chief Minister will not fast for a full 72 hours to make it a three-day fast as he had promised. Mr Vaghela, who is on a counter-fast at the Gandhi Ashram - one that pointedly began an hour before Mr Modi's did on Saturday - will break his fast at 10 am on Tuesday.
Gujarat riot victims have slammed the fast as a spectacle to whitewash Mr Modi's image. Sunday, Day 2 of his fast, saw much action with the police detaining riot victims and activists Mallika Sarabhai and Mukul Sinha in Naroda Patiya as they protested against the CM's fast. Naroda Patiya, about 8 km from the fast site, had witnessed the worst riots incident in 2002, when more than 90 people were killed.
The BJP's quick defence in spokesperson Prakash Javedekar's words: "There is a gang that is defaming Gujarat for the last one decade and they are doing it for their own political purpose, but they are getting defeated everywhere. People are coming so it is not just one person (Vastanvi) who is speaking the truth about the people of Gujarat. It is about thousands of Muslims who are doing it and participating in it. It's for a political purpose and a mischievous campaign and just to disturb and distort for which the police has to take a call."
The 2002 Gujarat riots remain the one big blemish on Mr Modi's career, and with his amity mission, fast to promote communal harmony and open letters to the people of his state, many say the Gujarat Chief Minister's attempt for sadbhavna is a careful image-altering exercise as he gets set for the national stage in the next Lok Sabha elections.
Mr Modi reached out to a fair sprinkling of Muslims at his fast and spoke of inclusive plans. But his attempt at emerging as the first among equals in the BJP needs acceptance across the political spectrum. Though the Akali Dal and the AIADMK backed Modi's fast, he faces stiff competition for the top job from ally JD(U) who doesn't back him as Nitish Kumar is a claimant for the same job.
The fast was the result of a defining last week for the Gujarat Chief Minister. The Supreme Court transferred a Gujarat-riots-related case to a lower court in the state and Narendra Modi tweeted, "God is Great". Suddenly, from a US think tank to BJP patriarch LK Advani, there was talk about Narendra Modi, possible future Prime Minister.
The three-day fast is all about Modi. He is the actor, director and script writer of the show. There are no BJP flags, no hoardings with smiling faces of Vajpayee, Advani and Gadkari. It signals that there is room for just one leader at the top in the party. Modi has taken the head start saying two is a crowd.
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