BJP brass closes ranks to shower Modi with praise

Central leaders of the Bharatiya Janata Party continued to shower praise on Gujarat chief minister Narendra Modi on the second day of his three-day ‘Sadbhavna’ fast.

Senior leaders L K Advani and Arun Jaitley have been present at the venue since the outset. On Sunday, Karnataka chief minister Sadananda Gowda came, as did the party’s national spokesmen, Prakash Javdekar and Shahnawaz Hussain, along with Shiv Sena representative Anant Geete.

Javdekar said Modi’s ‘Sadbhavana Mission’ was for the entire country. Comparing the progress of Gujarat with neighbouring Maharashtra, he said, “After 50 years, since Maharashtra and Gujarat separated, Gujarat has overtaken Maharashtra in terms of development. While 15 farmer suicides are recorded in Maharashtra every year, there are none in Gujarat. After Modi took over the reins of Gujarat, the state has bagged the top slot and left Maharashtra behind.”

Gowda said he was impressed with the Gujarat model. “The Karnataka government has taken up initiatives that Gujarat has undertaken in the past three years. Narendra Modi is a role model for development,” he said. Terming the perception of the BJP and Modi being anti-minority as “not correct”, Shahnawaz Hussain said: “The fact is that Muslims in Gujarat are progressing with the rest of the state. People from the minority community are turning up in large numbers at the fast venue to greet Modi. These are not fabricated crowds.”

Shiv Sena (a BJP ally) supremo Bal Thackeray sent his good wishes through Anant Geete. “This is for the first time in the country that a chief minister is observing a fast for peace and harmony in his state. This (sadbhavna mission) will give country a new direction,” Geete said.

Modi had started his 72-hour fast to, he said, spread the message of peace, harmony and brotherhood. The chief ministers of Punjab and Himachal Pradesh, Parkash Singh Badal and P K Dhumal, were present on the first day.

With hundreds thronging the Gujarat University Convention Centre venue, the police on Sunday had to resort to a lathicharge to control teeming crowds at the main entrance. They said none were injured. The situation was brought under control with the help or volunteers.