The BJP has announced that the party is going to hold a day-long fast on the 12th of April 2018 (today), and will be led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
The fast is observed in protest against the washout of Parliament proceedings during both legs of the Budget session.
Prime Minister Modi will stick to his daily schedule and work from his residence at 7, Lok Kalyan Marg. Later in the day, he will travel to Kanchipuram near Chennai to inaugurate the defense exposition. Several BJP MPs are likely to observe the fast at district headquarters across the country. BJP president Amit Shah will fast in poll-bound Karnataka, while Union Health Minister J P Nadda will fast in PM Modi’s Lok Sabha constituency of Varanasi.
The BJP’s fast comes days after the Congress held a nationwide fast on April 9 to protest against Dalit atrocities and acts of communal violence that have seen a flare up across the country. Congress president Rahul Gandhi, however, took on the BJP over a rape case involving its lawmaker. He tweeted: “The atrocities committed on a father who was calling for justice for his daughter in Uttar Pradesh has shamed mankind. It is to be hoped that the Prime Minister will hold a fast soon over the violence against women, the failure of law and order and growing anarchy under the BJP rule”.
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Instructions have been issued by BJP Delhi MPs to its workers ahead of the day-long fast led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi against Parliament disruption on Thursday: don’t be seen eating, don’t click selfies, clear food vendors from the area and don’t fast if you’re diabetic.
A party statement said, “To expose the Congress for its undemocratic style of functioning and pursuing divisive politics and anti-development agenda, PM Modi will observe day-long fast on April 12… He will be joined by BJP MPs, who will also observe a day-long fast and hold ‘dharnas’ across India.”
While all MPs have been asked to observe a day-long fast and “clearly place facts before the public and media that the Congress has murdered democracy by stalling Parliament”, a section of Delhi MPs added their own specific instructions to the workers.
A photo tweeted by BJP leader and spokesperson Harish Khurana, which saw Delhi Congress leaders eating before the party’s nationwide fast, had recently gone viral, leaving the party red-faced.
A BJP leader told the leading news agency, “We have told workers that the entire country’s media and the Opposition would be scouring the city looking for some BJP worker who they can catch doing something controversial. We can’t let that happen.”
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The consequent instructions include prohibiting anyone from taking a selfie while on stage, asking workers not to be seen eating before the fast, and an advisory to diabetic patients not to join the fast.
Moreover, some BJP leaders in parts of Delhi where there are many eateries have raised concerns. A senior leader from Chandni Chowk said, “The protest is taking place at Town Hall. That area has many eateries that serve really great food. It would be natural to be tempted, so we have requested vendors if they could sit elsewhere during the duration of the protest. We have also asked workers and leaders to be careful.”
A BJP state committee leader added, “For workers, it’s a protest and for MPs, it’s a fast. Taking a selfie while on stage to share on social media or eating before the protest is not correct.”
Khurana told the news agency “We have asked workers to understand that they should realize the spirit of the protest and that the fast needs to be respected. We have, for instance, asked diabetic patients not to fast. They need to eat every one or two hours. If they don’t, they might faint and that is not ideal.”
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