JOIN USPriests of various religions—Hinduism, Islam, Christianity, Sikhism, Zoroastrianism and sects such as Swaminarayan— sat alongside Modi and other top BJP leaders who have come from across the country to support the “sadbhavana” fast. Modi himself arrived at 10 in the morning and sought blessings of all the religious leaders on the stage before taking his seat. He was greeted by BJP leaders L K Advani, Arun Jaitley, Ravishankar Prasad and some NDA leaders who were present. Modi, who became a posterboy for aggressive Hindutava politics after 2002 communal riots, has been on an image make-over drive in the last few years.
He faced and continues to face accusations of a biased handling of 2002 riots, in which over 1,000 people — mostly Muslims — died.
At the fast venue on Saturday, people from the Muslim community were seen in large numbers, dressed in traditional attire with caps. Women from the community, too, were seen in substantial number.
Before Modi’s speech, there was slogan shouting by the people of the minority community, praise of him. The Sikh community also greeted the chief minister with religious slogans.
Soon after Modi’s arrival, a bhajan was played and the chief minister was seen lip-syncing. The announcer said the bhajan was one of Modi’s favourites. After the speeches, many from the minority community — men and women — came to the stage to greet Modi. Outside the venue, too, Muslims, along with BJP youth leaders, shouted pro-Modi and pro-BJP slogans.