In tit for tat, Vaghela to fast to counter Modi's fast

Congress leader and former union minister Shankersinh Vaghela is to go on a three-day fast from Sep 17 to counter chief minister Narendra Modi’s fast beginning on the same date, Congress sources said today.

Congress leader and former union minister Shankersinh Vaghela is to go on a three-day fast from Sep 17 to counter chief minister Narendra Modi’s fast beginning on the same date, Congress sources said on Wednesday.

According to the sources, Vaghela will go on fast at the Sabarmati Ashram in Ahmedabad. He will be joined by Gujarat Congress chief Arjun Modvadia for the three days and the leader of opposition Shaktisinh Gohil symbolically for some time. A formal announcement of Vaghela’s fast is expected on Thursday.

Vaghela has decided to undertake the fast to "expose the duplicitious nature" of the Gujarat chief minister and the "pious platitudes he is mouthing after a propaganda mission that seeks to falsely make out that he has been given a clean chit by the Supreme Court in connection with the 2002 riots", the Congress source said.

”Modi has a habit of launching five-star fasts without any rhyme or reason to perpetrate lies as he has done earlier,” Vaghela said, reacting to Modi’s announcement of the three-day fast.