Ahmedabad, 10 February 2012

Gujarat Chief Minister Shri Narendrabhai Modi today completed his 32nd Sadbhavana mission fast at Bhavnagar district’s pilgrim town Palitana. Shri Modi was joined by large number of people in his fast. This was Shri Modi’s second last fast.

Shri Modi’s last Sadbhavana mission fast will be held in north Gujarat’s pilgrim town Ambaji on 12th of this month. With this his Sadbhavana mission fast schedule that started from Ahmedabad will end.

Describing the 50 years’ Congress single party rule from Parliament to panchayats as anti-farmer and anti-poor, Chief Minister Narendra Modi today challenged the Congress sultanate at the Centre to match Gujarat’s 11 per cent growth rate in agriculture as well as in implementation of various pro-poor programmes.

Rounding up the district-wise Sadbhavna fast at the religious town of Palitana in Bhavnagar district, he said the Congress leaders are accustomed of throwing crumbs at the voters and making tall promises before elections and then allow people’s problem to multiply. On the other hand, Gujarat Government tried to root out one problem after another from the soil of the state during the last ten years. The Centre should compete with Gujarat rather than hurling abuses, he said.

Enumerating Gujarat’s achievements on various fronts, Mr. Modi said that his government also topped in the country in implementing the Centre’s 20-Point Programme for the last ten consecutive years. Incidentally, he said, none of the top five states in the implementation of this pro-poor programme are Congress-ruled states.

While former Prime Minister late Rajiv Gandhi used to say that hardly 15 paise out of the government’s rupee reached the target group, he pointed out, Gujarat ensured benefits of Rs.8,000-crore reached the target group as per the list prepared by the officials, literally at their doorstep during Garib Kalyan Melas, eliminating the middlemen. While the Congress indulged in building vote bank, Gujarat government built houses for the BPL families.

Even as over 6,000 people from different parts of Bavnagar district voluntarily joined him in his day-long fast, Mr. Modi expressed his gratitude to the teeming in supporting his dutiful Sadbhavna mission.

It was his penultimate day-long fast of the statewide Sadbhavna Mission launched from Ahmedabad on September 17, 2011. It is scheduled to culminate with his 36th fast at Ambaji on Sunday, February 12, 2012.