'Viraat' darshan to continue in Gujarat districts

Gujarat Chief minister Narendra Modi ended his three-day fast which he dubbed as Viraat darshan, on Monday, amidst cheers by thousands of citizens at the Gujarat University Convention Hall. He announced that this was just the beginning of the Sadbhavna Mission.

Modi broke his fast at 6.12pm by consuming lemon juice offered to him by priests of different religions and sects. The audience erupted and gave a thunderous applause as the CM ended his fast in the presence of many political leaders. Five girls, each of them symbolising one of the ‘Panch Shaktis’ were also present on the dais. 

Speaking immediately after ending his fast, Modi said that his fast had ended, but it was the beginning of Sadbhavna Mission, aimed at promoting communal harmony and brotherhood in the state.

“No one would have thought that Sadbhavna Mission would generate this kind of response not only in Gujarat, but the whole country. Why is India talking about it? Why is there so much curiosity about it?” he questioned.  Modi said that the common man, fed up with what was happening around him, had joined the mission in anticipation of something good. The CM also announced that he would fast for a day in each district of the state in the coming days.   

"We have seen benefits of unity, peace, harmony and brotherhood. We want to further strengthen the Sadbhavna Mission," he said.  Taking a dig at his detractors, who had described the fast as a political gimmick, Modi said that there was no reason to see everything through politics. "Nationalism is a greater virtue than politics. This Mission is inspired by nationalism, not politics," he thundered.

He also said that not having big dreams was the cause for all problems of the country.

The CM, who is seen as BJP's potential prime ministerial candidate in the coming Lok Sabha elections in 2014, said that successive governments had resorted to vote bank politics and thought of nothing but winning elections.

"Vote bank politics and not development policies influenced all decisions. But, we have changed the situation in Gujarat by changing our thinking," he said.

Modi also said that there was no rocket science behind Gujarat's success in the past decade, and the state had scaled new heights by involving people in the process. "This fast was a small step towards Virat Darshan of Gujarat's success by people's involvement," he said.

The CM took a swipe at people who were wondering about the need of Sadbhavna Mission, saying they didn't realise that the state government was practicing it for 10 years. "We achieved success and then decided to highlight the Sadbhavna model," he said.

Modi urged the countrymen to join the mission saying it would pave the way for the country's development. The CM said that Gujarat, with its success, had dispelled the sense of disappointment from over the country. Modi also said that Gujarat had achieved a lot of success, but he was not satisfied and wanted the state to touch newer heights.

"We live in a democracy, and people are entitled to their own views and opinions. But, the important thing is that we keep our goal in sight," he added.

Earlier, Modi started the third day of his fast in the presence of a host of senior political leaders including Sushma Swaraj, Venkaiah Naidu, Gopinath Munde, Arjun Munda, Hema Malini, Raj Thackeray, Smriti Irani, among others.

Like the first two days of the fast, the third day also saw a large rush of citizens. People had come from different parts of the state and even from Mumbai. Saints and seers of different religions and sects were also in attendance.