Ahmedabad: Gujarat Congress leaders
Shankarsinh Vaghela and Arjun Modhvadia on Saturday began their
fast as a counter to Chief Minister Narendra Modi's three-day
fast here.
The Congress leaders launched their fast an hour before
Modi's fast which began at around 10 AM.
The Congress has dubbed Modi's fast as "five star" as it
being held in an air-conditioned hall. Vaghela and Modhvadia
are sitting on a footpath in front of Sabarmati Ashram, the
Opposition leaders pointed out.
"In today's administration, where five and seven star
culture is being used as a weapon for image building in self
interest, I want to ask through you people (media), what was
the necessity to go on a fast. Have heavens fallen on the
public of Gujarat?" he said while talking to reporters.
"What was the necessity to spend several crores of
public money. If he wanted to fast, he (Modi) could have done
that at home also. As Chief Minister there was no necessity to
do such a 'tamasha' (public show off).
"It is a corrupt Government, a Government which has
been running away from Lokayukta, and we want to show this to
the people of country," the former Chief Minister said.
"There are allegations of corruption against the
Government. The state public debt has mounted to Rs 1.30-lakh
crore, about which the people of Gujarat are not aware. This
is the kind of development we are talking about," Vaghela
said.
The Chief Minister announced his fast after a Supreme
Court order, which he interpreted as a clean chit to him in a
post-Godhra riots case, Vaghela said.
"Now, he wants to project himself as a messiah of the
minorities by undertaking such a fast and wants to show that
he is their protector."
"If there is a justifiable cause for fast by the Chief
Minister, we can understand it. He is saying this fast is for
sadbhavna (harmony), but his fast is based on farce, falsehood
and corruption," Vaghela claimed.
Modi started his 72-hour fast in the Convention Hall
of Gujarat University.
PTI
First Published: Saturday, September 17, 2011, 12:09