Parliament logjam: BJP on Fast to Save Democracy

Mysuru/New Delhi:  BJP leaders across the country led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi began their day-long fast this morning in protest against the washout of Parliament proceedings during both legs of the Budget Session. By organising the fast, the BJP wants to send a message that the Union government was not responsible for the disruption of the Parliament.

While BJP President Amit Shah and State BJP President B.S. Yeddyurappa are leading the fast in front of Dharwad DC Office, Union Ministers H.N. Ananth Kumar, D.V. Sadananda Gowda and Prakash Javadekar are fasting in front of the Gandhi statue in Bengaluru.

In Mysuru, over 200 BJP workers led by MP Pratap Simha and former Minister S.A. Ramdas and City BJP President Dr. B.H. Manjunath protested in front of the Deputy Commissioner’s Office. Hemanth Kumar Gowda of Yuva Morcha and other leaders including S.K. Dinesh, M.V. Ramprasad and L. Nagendra were present.

Blaming the Congress led opposition for the deadlock in both the houses of Parliament, Pratap Simha said that there were several crucial Bills which could not be taken up for discussion because of the disruption.

“We want the voice of the people to resonate across the country. We believe that people are annoyed that an entire session was wasted due to disruptions. Now we want to express our disappointment by going on a fast led by our PM,” he said.

They blamed the Congress, its President Rahul Gandhi and his mother Sonia Gandhi for the failed Parliament session.

While the BJP leaders across the country are observing day-long fast, in Mysuru, however, the dharna in front of the DC office ended in one hour.

Addressing BJP MPs, PM Modi said the BJP leaders and its workers will observe the fast to “expose” those people who “throttled” democracy by stalling Parliament proceedings. “Those who couldn’t gain power in 2014 don’t want the country to move forward. They didn’t let Parliament work for a single day. They killed democracy and we will observe fast to bring their crime in front of the world. I will also hold fast. But I will continue my work,” he said.

The BJP’s fast comes days after the Congress held a nationwide fast on Apr. 9 to protest against Dalit atrocities and acts of communal violence that have seen a flare up across the country. However, the images of Congress leaders eating ‘chhole bhature’ before the fast went viral resulting in deep embarrassment for the party.

PM fasting while working

While BJP workers and leaders went on a sit-down fast across the country, Prime Minister Narendra Modi continued his work while on fast. He began his day by inaugurating Def-Expo, the country’s biggest Defence Exposition in Kanchipuram near Chennai. It has been reported that the PM will continue the rest of the day as per schedule and fast while doing so.