Gadkari wishes Modi on birthday, hopes fast will succeed

In a letter to Modi, Gadkari congratulated and wished him for his "Sadbhavana Mission" after the "important verdict" by the Supreme Court in the Gulbarga Society riots case.

"Due to the Supreme Court verdict you have successfully passed the test by fire. This decision underlines the fact that truth always triumphs. I have no doubt that in the wake of this all forces propagating falsehood and untruths will be defeated," Gadkari said.

Interestingly, this is the first time that Gadkari has spoken on the Supreme Court verdict which came on September 12. He underwent a bariatric operation on the same day and has been recuperating in Mumbai since then.

"My heartfelt good wishes and all success to your Sadbhavana Mission and the fast that you have undertaken for harmony," Gadkari said in his letter to Modi.

The BJP central leaders, including L K Advani, Arun Jaitley, Rajnath Singh, Ravi Shankar Prasad, Shahnawaz Hussain, Rajiv Pratap Rudy, Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi, Vijay Goel among others, are in Ahmedabad to attend Modi's fast.

Karnataka Chief Minister Sadanand Gowda is also likely to visit the fast.