BJP fast: Modi should quit if he feels so helpless, says Congress

New Delhi: With Prime Minister Narendra Modi set to lead the BJP’s day-long fast against Parliament logjam on Thursday, the Congress Party on Thursday described the ruling party’s protest as a “farce” and said that Mr Modi should quit the government if he felt so “helpless”.

“This is a farce of a fast by the Modi government. The BJP should apologise to the nation and hold a fast for disrupting Parliament for over 250 hours. The Lok Sabha, where the BJP has a majority, functioned for only one per cent of its time and the Rajya Sabha functioned for six per cent of its time,” Congress chief spokesperson Randeep Singh Surjewala told the media.

“Having sensed defeat, if the Prime Minister and his Cabinet fast, then how can this country run? If the Prime Minister feels so helpless that he has to fast then he should leave the government,” he added.

Mr Surjewala also alleged that the government had “disrespected” and “degenerated” the Parliament.

The Congress said that the BJP should also apologise to the country for not revealing the details of the Rafale deal and thereby, compromising on issues of national security.

On Thursday, along with Mr Modi and Mr Shah, all BJP MPs will observe the day-long fast in their respective constituencies over disruptions during the Budget Session of the Parliament.

Mr Modi will carry on with his daily routine as usual, meeting officials and clearing files. He will also fly to Chennai to inaugurate the DefExpo.  

Union minister like Ravi Shankar Prasad will observe the fast at Gardani Bagh in Patna, while minister for external affairs Sushma Swaraj will be in New Delhi. Culture minister Mahesh Sharma will be fasting in Noida.

Minister of home affairs Rajnath Singh, petroleum minister Dharmendra Pradhan and railway minister Piyush Goyal will observe the fast while attending to official work in Delhi, while Union health minister J.P. Nadda will be fasting in Varanasi.

The BJP had said in a statement that Mr Modi along with all party MPs will observe a fast on Thursday to reveal the “undemocratic and anti-development face of the Congress party, which stalled the proceedings of Parliament during the Budget Session”.

Meanwhile, the BJP high command has issued a diktat to its legislators, leaders and ministers to refrain from being “seen or photographed eating at public places”. The move comes after the Congress was embarrassed on Monday when a photograph of their leaders eating a sumptuous breakfast at a restaurant before sitting for the fast was widely circulated in social media.

Delhi Pradesh Congress Committee chief Ajay Maken, Arvinder Singh Lovely and Haroon Yusuf were photographed eating “chhole bhature” at Old Delhi’s Chaina Ram Sweets before heading for Rajghat for the day-long which had been called by the Congress to protest atrocities on dalits.