What did media say about satbhavana Fast By Narendra Modi?

Reuters

http://in.reuters.com/article/2011/09/17/idINIndia-59398120110917

(Reuters) - Pro-business BJP leader Narendra Modi, who some think could be India's next prime minister, began a "harmony" fast on Saturday to soften his image as a hardliner blamed for religious riots that claimed hundreds of mostly Muslim victims nine years ago.

The fast is seen as a bid by Modi, the chief minister of Gujarat, and his party, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), to launch him as a national leader as the government loses popularity over inflation and corruption scams.

Seizing the moment after the Supreme Court referred to a lower court a case in which Modi was accused of complicity in the 2002 violence, he is using the fast to depict himself as a conciliator with a strong record on the economy.

"In democracy, there is no place for any ill will or revenge," Modi, wearing a white turban, said from an air-conditioned hall in Ahmedabad where he will conduct his fast.

"My effort has been to take Gujarat forward. In terms of economic and overall progress, Gujarat has made giant strides," Modi said of his state which has seen 11 percent growth in recent years.

Hundreds of supporters, both Hindu and Muslim, sang religious slogans as he entered the hall, flanked by senior BJP members.

"It is for peace and communal harmony. Through my fast, I want to reach out to more people," said Modi in comments broadcast live on national television.

MAHARASHTRA TIMES : ' गुजरात दंगल व्हायला नको होती. मला त्यावेळी खरोखरच खूप यातना झाल्या आणि अजूनही ती सल मला बोचतच रहाते', असे मोदी म्हणाले.

INDIAN EXPRESS :

Narendra Modi fast-forwards, rewinds

The Hindu

Modi holds fast with eye on national political stageComing down heavily on his critics, who accused him and his government of “having a hand in the 2002 communal riots,” Mr. Modi said that for 10 years he and Gujarat people remained quiet on the charges, waiting for the appropriate authorities to reply. “For 10 years, we did not hit back, but collected all the stones and brickbats thrown at us and used them as the stepping stone to take Gujarat to the new heights of development.”

Times of India

Narendra Modi's fast: BJP rallies around him, Cong says he is 'wasting public money'

Launching his three-day 'sadbhavna' fast for peace, unity and harmony, chief minister Narendra Modi on Saturday said Gujarat was his family and the day was not far off when the world would discuss it as a model state. Top BJP leaders, including LK Advani, attending the function, heaped praise on Modi's governance. Meanwhile, the Congress attacked Modi for his fast accusing him of "wasting" public money through his "drama" and said NDA would collapse if Modi was projected BJP's prime ministerial candidate. The party also said Modi wanted to wash away the "stains" of his past "crimes" through this fast.

Chants of Allahu akbar merged and reverberated with Sanskrit shlokas as Modi started the fast at 10.30am.Members of the Muslim community, many of whom were shouting slogans in support of the chief minister, were seen in large numbers at the venue. BJP stalwarts, including LK Advani, Arun Jaitley, Ravi Shanker Prasad, former BJP president Rajnath Singh and Mukhtar Abas Naqvi were also present. Rajya Sabha member and TV star Smriti 'Tulsi' Irani added the glamour quotient. AIADMK leader M Thambidurai, leader in the Lok Sabha and his counterpart at the Rajya Sabha V Maitreyan were also present.Apart from office bearers of the BJP, chief minister from Punjab Prakash Singh Badal, Himachal Pradesh chief minister Prem Kumar Dhumal flew into the city.On the eve of the fast, Modi had issued a statement which was interpreted as his first sign of regret over the 2002 post-Godhra communal violence. "Constitution of India is supreme for us. As a chief minister of the state, pain of anybody is my pain. Justice to everyone is the duty of the state," Modi had said on Friday.On Saturday, in his speech, Modi claimed that his government had tried to bring normalcy in the state in 2002. "Innocent people were killed, atmosphere was tense and emotions were running high. The wounds were deep and people said that Gujarat cannot develop now. But people have forgotten the past and development is now the mantra," he said.He began his speech with a reference to the earthquake in 2001 and then went on to talk about the 2002 riots, the Akshardham attack and even the 2008 blasts in Ahmedabad and added that each time the state rose from the ashes.Choosing not to directly attack the Congress, Modi said critics had been hurling stones at him and he took them in his stride to save the people of Gujarat. "I gathered these stones and used them to make a ladder of the development for the state."

Data Mining by Deepti

Important Points Modi's Speech on Day 1

Please read, comment and share with friends . Jai Hind

Top Tweets for Satbhavna (Pl spread)

Modi’s Satbhavana reletedTweets (Set 1)- Pl spread and comment

1)Prakash Singh Badal referring to NaMo as "Light house of Development"

2)Modi's fast is on the lines of our policy of communal harmony and secularism: J Jayalalithaa

3)Modi's speech begins with Muslims and Sikhs in audience shouting religious slogans and vande mataram

4)Religious leaders of all communities on the stage – Modi being blessed by all of them What a sight

5)LKA: To make this 21st century, India’s century -we must have a zero tolerance attitude towards 2 things - Corruption & Terrorism

6)LKA: No other state can boast of 11% growth #Sadbhavana

7) Arun J: There will always be the critics & negativity - But positive agenda and not critcism sets the tone in Gujarat

8) VG: Delhi is the capital of India, yet we dont have 24 hour electricity that all 14,000+ villages in Gujarat have #Sadbhavana

9) tavleen_singh

If killers had been punished after the annual bloodshed that preceded Gujarat there may not have been riots in 2002.

10) @swapan55: If Anna represented anger, Modi encapsulates hope. Anna epitomised anti-politics, Modi stands 4 better politics.

11) Swabhimaan Out of 10 top trending topics in India , 4 are #sadbhavana #ModiFast #NAMO and #GUJARAT

12) Swabhimaan

RT @emanin: @sardesairajdeep I want to know How many times have u done a show or written articles on Cong spending taxpyers money on Gandhis

13) Bharatkumar Raut (BR) extends solidarity on behalf of the Shiv Sena to Sadbhavana Mission #Sadbhavana

14) RastrSwabhimaan

NDTV is suffering fr Amnesia- calls Vaghela a KONgress veteran! forgot he was in BJP 10 years back !eat almonds dears. eat almonds.

15) RaviGhiyar #sadbhavana means end of vote bank politics

16) centerofright : Political speech without mention of Hindu, Muslim, minority, majority, Congress! Not mentioned even once! Simply Brilliant!"

17) RastrSwabhimaan RashtriyaSwabhimaan

what do Kejriwals and bedis say now? time they understand that they should acknowledge the strength of a true common man- Narendra Modi

18) sachinjee narendramodi जी तो सदभावना के लिये अनशन कर रहे हैं किन्तु ये कांग्रेसी - वैमनस्य फैलानें के लिये अनशन को बदनाम करनें पर तुले हैं..

19) SushmaSwarajBJP: I will be in Ahmedabad on 19th September for the Sadbhavana Upvas of Narendrabhai Modi." #Sadbhavana

20) sachinjee Sachin Khare

अभी मोदी जी के सदभावना अनशन का पहला दिन भी पूरा नहीं हुआ है और कांग्रेस के होश उड़े हैं, हर मिनट एक सदी के बराबर गुजरेगा कांग्रेसियों पर..

21) Is anyone noticing the changing colour of national media???even the Eng news channel???It seems they too have accepted Modi as next PM. Better late than never

22)False allegations for Godhra was the only card they could play against Modi,having got a bash on that & then the US report, even the Eng media has taken a U turn to support MOdi

23) Modi for PM was the popular voice since long...it seems even Media feels very strongly now...showing a lot of Sadbhavana towrds him. Wonderful

24)Lagta hai mediawalo ka atma bhi jag gaya…Modiji ke prati itna Sadbhav jag gaya

25)jnsbmi Shahnawaz to Shakeel Ahmed : You want to move ahead bhagalpur, delhi amongst others, when we want to move ahead from Gujarat you object.

26)shaileshkpandey

Ingenious ... when everything else fails, they bring in this Modi Vs Nitish card ... be more creative guys ... we have seen this one !!

27)RastrSwabhimaan RashtriyaSwabhimaan

Modi on Fast. CONgress COPY CATS! :-) Modi-" Told u na, MAI KHATA NAHI AUR KHANE DETA BHI NAHI".Point proved!!!

28)RastrSwabhimaan RashtriyaSwabhimaan

Modi Holds fast in A.C Hall as he has taken people there(Devlpmnt & Progress) Vaghela fasts on road as there is whr CONgress has taken them

29)offstumped Offstumped

In response to popular sentiment within the JD-U and Delhi based punditry why doesn't Nitish sacrifice his govt in Bihar lead a 3rd front

30)SanghPariwar SanghParivar.org

#Sadbhavana Mission "All good work has 3 stages: Ridicule, Opposition and then acceptance" - Swami Vivekananda.

31)diggyleaks Raja DiggVijay Singh

RahulG on counter-fast from tomorrow, will only have fast food. #modifast

32)mediacrooks MediaCrooks

Strange..BJP helped tm Anna.Now both @thekiranbedi & tm@janlokpal trashing BJP/NaMo.Unfollow both & send them a clear msg.. #modifast Pl RT

33)

Sushma Swaraj: When 108 Ambulance gets an emergency call, it does not ask whether the caller is Hindu or Muslim

34)ssudhirkumar S. Sudhir Kumar

by centerofright

That's what we need now. No more appeasement! Have@narendramodi and @SushmaSwarajBJP they changed the discourse now

35) Sushma ji: When I went to Israel to study drip irrigation - I was told to go back to Gujarat to do so - 'why dont you go to Guj' #Sadbhavana

36)sadbhavana_guj Sadbhavana Mission

Sushma Swaraj: Modi ji does not govern from AC rooms, but out there amongst his people in the sun & dust #Sadbhavana

37) One muslim guy offered #topi to #Namo @ #ModiFast #NaMo said no He does not believe in appeasement #DalalMedia crying wolf

38)TV channs going berserk abt NModi not wearing cap offered by a muslim - Sadbhavna is abt goodwill not abt wearing motif's of other's religs

39)sadbhavana_guj Sadbhavana Mission

Bhaiyyu ji Maharaj: I congratulate Modi ji for starting ‘Beti Bachao Andolan’ (initiative for saving Girl Child) - epitome of #Sadbhavana

40)

Bhaiyyuji: A man who has ‘samvedna’ to look after even the animals in his State through - ‘Pashu Melas’ - can only be a symbol of #Sadbhavna

41)absolute jalan in media folks...especially NDTV...ended up covering the event and no interview ! hahahaha

42)sadbhavana_guj Sadbhavana Mission

Seers from various faiths feed Modi ji with juice to conclude his fast

43)

RastrSwabhimaan RashtriyaSwabhimaan

want India 2 b again called a sone ki chidiyan, bt tis time nt a docile bird, but a ferocious eagle who none wil dare challenge!#Sadbhavana

44)RastrSwabhimaan RashtriyaSwabhimaan

Shankhnaad baja hai, Modi aur BJP wapas aa rahe hain

45)ashutosh1671 Ashutosh Patankar

RT @RastrSwabhimaan: Modi is the answer to the Middle class's quest for a clean,strong,nononsense leader.Tm Anna dare not mock him.Do they?

46)bansal_dhanraj Dhan Raj Bansal

@RastrSwabhimaan भारत की किस्मत गुजरात की तरह जागेगी और उसे NAMO का कुशल नेत्रित्व मिल पायेगा ?मुझे तो पूरा विश्वास है |

47)smitaprakash smita prakash

Modi: I have/had a dream...to be of help to a suffering citizen

48)

Venkaiah Naidu: Gujarat’s success is due its CM - Modi ji has character, calibre, capacity, conduct #Sadbhavana

49)

Gopinath Munde: Adivasi and Backward Castes progress unprecedented in Gujarat #Sadbhavana

50)

RastrSwabhimaan RashtriyaSwabhimaan

What Gujarat does today, India will do tomorrow. Lets join hands withthe CEO MODI to make India truly MAHAAN.Vande Mataram #Sadbhavana

51)

firstpostin Firstpost

#Modi: #China, Europe and US dreams big. Why can't #India dream big?