PM Modi To Fast On April 12 As BJP Protests "Disruption Of Parliament By Opposition"

New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi will work on Thursday but on an empty stomach as he keeps a day's fast along with other lawmakers of the ruling BJP in protest against disruptions in parliament. BJP president Amit Shah will also join the protest, but he will be in Karnataka, where parties are campaigning for polls a month away. The BJP has blamed the Congress and Sonia Gandhi for the disruptions that meant that the budget session of parliament was a lost cause.

"The PM will work in his office but will not eat," said a BJP leader.

The BJP had announced last week that all its lawmakers would observe a day's fast against parliament disruptions, but the Prime Minister's participation was confirmed today.

The ruling party has accused the Congress of not allowing any debate or discussion in parliament.  The opposition, however, accuses the BJP of getting its allies to raise protests in the house so that two no-confidence motions moved by Andhra Pradesh parties would never come up.

The Congress called PM Modi's fast a "farce". 

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"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's Randeep Singh Surjewala said.

Yesterday, Rahul Gandhi led a Congress fast at Mahatma Gandhi's memorial Rajghat for communal harmony and what the party called the government's failure to control violence during Dalit protests.

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The BJP mocked the Congress fast, accusing its leaders of gorging on chhole bhature at a popular Delhi restaurant before joining the fast. BJP leaders also tweeted images of Congress leaders like Ajay Maken and Arvinder Singh Lovely at the restaurant.

The Congress leaders responded that it was a symbolic fast from 10.30 am to 4.30 pm and they were having breakfast.

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The BJP also took digs at Rahul Gandhi as they called the entire protest a "farce". The Congress president arrived for the fast at 12.45 pm, which provoked the BJP to suggest that he had taken lunch or overslept.