The second day of chief minister Narendra Modi’s fast coincided with a lot of protests and chaos, both within and outside the Gujarat University (GU) convention hall, the venue of the three-day fast.
The second day of chief minister Narendra Modi’s fast coincided with a lot of protests and chaos, both within and outside the Gujarat University (GU) convention hall, the venue of the three-day fast.
As far as the fast is concerned, it continued to draw strong response as citizens from all walks of life thronged the venue and extended their support to the CM’s initiative.
Members of Jan Sangharsh Manch (JSM), noted danseuse Mallika Sarabhai, and riot victims were denied permission to hold demonstrations against Modi’s fast and were detained by Naroda police.
The parents of 13 thalasaemmic children from Junagadh, who were diagnosed with HIV, wanted to meet the CM, but they were allegedly prevented from going to the fast venue by police.
The parents of Umang and Jaydeep Nai, who were found murdered in an abandoned car in Gandhinagar a few months back, were also not allowed to enter the venue by the cops. Later in the evening, one Vaishali Makwana, a resident of Saurashtra, slashed her wrist after being prevented from meeting the CM. She was hospitalised and was stable.
Dinesh Chauhan, resident of Surendrangar district, was also rushed to VS Hospital late in the evening. Chauhan claimed that he had lost his friend’s mobile and was under pressure to buy a new one. He left his village and arrived on Sunday at Modi’s fasting venue where he cut his wrist in a bid to end his life.
Earlier, the GU convention hall was almost packed when Modi came out of the resting room and took the dais at 9.50 am. He was welcomed by priests and seers of different communities, amidst large cheers by the audience comprising men and women, young and old, farmers, tribals, maldharis, who were there to express solidarity with the Sadbhavna Mission. Many of them had arrived in their traditional attires adding colour to the event.
Being a Sunday, there was a steady flow of visitors, with one set of people replacing the other, even as the crowd outside swelled sending the organisers and police in a tizzy. In fact, entry of visitors into the venue had to be stopped for half an hour at around 11.30 am.
The police had to resort to mild lathicharge twice to control the crowd. Three visitors and two cops were injured. Later, additional barricades were set up to regulate the flow of visitors. Modi reciprocated to the citizens’ gesture, meeting many of them at the dais and greeting the others from the dais by frequently waving and folding his hands.
The second day of the fast also saw Karnataka CM Sadananda Gowda, MP Ananth Kumar, BJP spokespersons Prakash Javdekar and Shahnawaz Hussain, cricketer-turned politician Navjot Singh Sidhu, among others sharing the dais with Modi. Actor Paresh Raval, Gujarati actress Roma Manek and noted singer Dhari Panchamda were also in attendance.
The second day of the fast also saw a large number of minority community members flocking to the venue. In fact, Muslims had come from as far as Valsad and Kutch especially for the fast. A group of eunuchs had also come to extend their wishes and support to the CM.
The flow of visitors slowed down during the afternoon, but picked up again in the evening as hordes of people flocked the venue, which continued till late in the evening.
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