Sushma to attend Modi fast on final day on Monday

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Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha, Sushma Swaraj, will be among the top Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leaders to be present on the third and final day of Gujarat chief minister Narendra Modi’s fast here on Monday.

Modi has been fasting since Saturday on a goodwill mission, seeking peace and social harmony. Maharastra Navnirman Sena (MNS) leader Raj Thackeray greeted Modi at the fast venure earlier in the day. Small groups of victims of the 2002 Gujarat riots held protests in the city Monday. The action follows the detention of several activists and protestors the previous day.

While the BJP has hailed the fast by Modi, rival parties like the Congress and the Left have criticised it. Even the Janata Dal-United (JD-U) — a key constituent of the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) and partner with BJP in the ruling alliance in Bihar — has been critical, largely because they fear the fast is an attempt to forklift Modi as a prime ministerial candidate in 2014.

In a big embarrassment to the BJP, JD-U spokesperson Shivanand Tiwari told reporters in New Delhi on Sunday: "Modi has failed to discharge 'raj dharma' (state responsibility) in Gujarat."

Top BJP leaders, including L.K. Advani and Leader Of Opposition in the Rajya Sabha Arun Jaitley, and Punjab chief minister Prakash Singh Badal, of the Akali Dal, were among those present when Modi began his fast at the university convention hall here on Saturday.