10:32 am
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Gujarat chief minister Narendra Modi on Saturday began his three-day fast for "peace, unity and harmony" in the state.
AHMEDABAD : Gujarat chief minister Narendra Modi on Saturday began his three-day fast for "peace, unity and harmony" in the state.
After the Supreme Court verdict in a Gujarat riots case on Monday that gave him some relief, Modi announced a fast for three days calling it a 'Sadbhavna Mission' for peace, unity and harmony in the state.
Top BJP leaders, NDA allies like Prakash Singh Badal and Jayalalitha's representatives are attending Modi's fast.
Senior BJP leaders L K Advani, Arun Jaitley and Ravi Shankar Prasad were present at the fast venue at the state-of-the-art convention centre of Gujarat University here.
On Friday, the Gujarat chief minister expressed "gratitude" to those who pointed out his mistakes in the last 10 years and said the state has realised that communal frenzy and casteism never helped anybody grow in the country.
"Constitution of India is supreme for us. As a chief minister of the state, pain of anybody in the state is my pain. (Delivering) Justice to everyone is the duty of the state," Modi said on the eve of his three-day fast.
Modi's remarks are being interpreted as his first ever expression of regret over the post-Godhra communal riots in which more than 1,200 people, mostly Muslims, were killed. He has been severely criticised for not expressing any remorse over the killings since 2002.
