Bhubaneswar, Oct. 22: A few days after chief minister Naveen Patnaik claimed that his “every bone is secular” and termed Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) and Bajrang Dal “fundamentalist outfits”, two of his cabinet colleagues today participated in a VHP-sponsored yajna performed here to “defeat anti-Hindu forces”.

Revenue minister Manmohan Samal and co-operation minister Surama Padhi were seen participating in the concluding ceremony of the yajna by the VHP-supported Swami Laxmananda Saraswati Sraddhanajali Samiti here this morning.

They accompanied RSS chief K.S. Sudarshan who offered the “purnahuti” at yajna site and broke the fast launched by Swami Jeevan Chaitanya, a VHP central advisory committee member. Chaitanya was on an indefinite fast demanding arrest of those behind the killing of Swami Laxmananda Saraswati. Chaitanya and 70 other Hindu monks had been staging a dharna near the Assembly here on a five-point charter of demands.

Sudarshan came from Visakhapatnam to show solidarity with Chaitanya and others. “We have already lost a great monk in Swami Laxmananda Saraswati. We don’t want to lose you any more,” Sudarshan told Chaitanya requesting him to break the fast.

The BJP ministers came to the yajna site to express their support to the demands of the monks. Earlier yesterday, BJP national vice-president Jual Oram and state president Suresh Pujari visited the dharna site and extended their support.

Oram was agitated over the fact that a BJP delegation led by him was debarred from entering or touring Kandhamal when all others, including Congress leaders, missionaries and NGOs were allowed to hold rallies and meetings.

Pujari said Naveen was issuing self-contradictory statements. “Naveen described Kandhamal strife as an outcome of ethnic and not a communal conflict, but at the same time he dubbed Bajrang Dal as a fundamentalist outfit,” he said.