NEW DELHI: BJP MPs led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi will sit on day-long fast on Thursday to protest against the washout of the second half of budget session of Parliament and to convey the message that an ‘adamant’ opposition was ‘responsible’ for the two Houses not conducting legislative business.BJP had announced in the last week of the budget session that its MPs from both Houses would fast on April 12 in their respective constituencies or district headquarters. This comes close on the heels of a fast held by Congress on Monday to protest atrocities committed against Dalits. Lok Sabha MPs will fast in their constituencies while the party will earmark districts for Rajya Sabha MPs. Home minister Rajnath Singh will fast in Lucknow and roads minister Nitin Gadkari in Nagpur.Finance minister Arun Jaitley and external affairs minister Sushma Swaraj will not fast as they are recuperating. BJP MP Bhupendra Yadav will fast in Ajmer and media convenor Anil Baluni in Dehradun.BJP has tried to pin the blame for the session washout on Congress and like-minded opposition parties though the ruckus in the House was created initially by members belonging to TDP and YSRCP and later by AIADMK and TRS, with the Congress-led Opposition accusing the latter three to be ‘government-friendly’ parties.

Source: Economic Times April 11, 2018 02:15 UTC