Togadia ends fast, says will embark on national tour to revive Hindutva

Pravin Togadia, former working president of VHP International, ended his 'indefinite fast' in Ahmedabad, two days after commencement, and said that he would go on a nationwide tour to revive “Hindutva politics”.

Togadia, who quit the VHP, an organisation with which he was associated for 32 years, had embarked on a fast on Tuesday, demanding construction of Ram temple in Ayodhya and implementation of Uniform Civil Code.

The 62-year-old cancer surgeon turned right wing leader is diabetic; in an exclusive interview to THE WEEK, he had said that “any leader has to take risks”, when asked why he embarked on a fast considering his medical condition.

Late in the afternoon, Togadia said he was breaking his fast on the advice of doctors, and requests from saints.

Taking a dig at Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who was attending several official functions in London, Togadia said that he (Modi) would have to answer to 100 crore Hindus, farmers and the youth, before the 2019 polls. Mentioning that the current government at the Centre failed to deliver on its promises, Togadia also observed that it (the government) was as bad as it predecessors.

Two proposed venues for the fast had to be changed as the police did not grant permission. Finally, the fast was held near the Gujarat VHP headquarters situated in Paldi, Ahmedabad.

Quite a few number of supporters, VHP workers and saints sat along with him on the token fast. However, he failed to draw a significant crowd at the venue. Moreover, there was not much space near the VHP headquarters.

While ending the fast, Togadia said that he was willing to take the risk to his life, but did not want the youth and farmers to die.  “I will sacrifice my life but will not allow volunteers to do so,” he said.

He said he would embark on the yatra from Friday. He plans to go to villages, towns and cities and make people aware about the issues he has been fighting for.

The fast that lasted only about 50 hours did not see any big shot from the BJP coming to the venue except from senior party leader Surendra Patel on the first day before Togadia emerged on the stage. Patel requested him not to embark on indefinite hunger fast.

On the opening day, he minced no words to criticise Modi, his one-time-friend, for the latter's alleged failure to live up to his promises.

A few months before, Togadia had gone missing from the VHP headquarters in Ahmedabad, and was found late night on the same day in semi-conscious condition. While Togadia had claimed that he faced a threat to his life, the Crime Branch contended that Togadia's story was fabricated.