While farmers starve to death, BJP, Congress staging drama over fast: Shiv Sena

MUMBAI: The Shiv Sena on Saturday slammed both the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and the Congress for the recent one-day hunger strike observed by both the parties calling it a 'drama'. BJP's estranged ally Shiv Sena in its editorial mouthpiece Saamna hit out at both the parties over the photographs that went viral in which politicians could be seen eating while claiming that they were on fast. 

"No one can tell exactly what was achieved by this fast. Most of the people of this country are still hungry. Malnutrition is causing the death of children. Families of farmers are committing suicide because of starvation and hunger. In the state of Maharashtra, during the BJP government, three thousand people committed suicide and in the country, four lakh farmers self-styled it," Sena said in its editorial.

The hard-hitting post comes after the Congress and the BJP held fasts against the washout of Parliament's Budget Session. However, both the hunger strikes were drowned in controversies. 

When Congress called for the fast, photographs emerged of its party leaders eating 'chole bhature'. Taking to microblogging site Twitter, former Delhi chief minister Madan Lal Khurana’s son and BJP leader Harish Khurana had shared a picture of Congress leaders, including Ajay Maken, Haroon Yusuf and Arvinder Singh Lovely, eating at a restaurant in Delhi.

The same day, Congress leader Jagdish Tytler, who has been named in connection with 1984 anti-Sikh riots, was asked to leave the stage at the fast venue. And that was not it, the party faced embarassment after its chief Rahul Gandhi arrived late at the venue. 

BJP was no better. While the party tweeted pictures of Congress leaders feasting before the fast, a video emebrged where two of BJP MLAs were seen snacking in Pune during the fast hours. The BJP's fast was led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and joined by several other party leaders including party chief Amit Shah.