Bhagalpur, Sept. 19: State health minister and local BJP MLA Ashwini Kumar Choubey today remained tight- lipped over the recent adverse reaction of JD(U) leaders over Gujarat chief minister Narendra Modi’s fast but he lambasted the Congress for questioning Modi’s attempt for peace and communal harmony.

Choubey, who had shared dais with Modi and performed a six-hour fast on the Gujarat University ground in Ahmedabad yesterday, returned to Bhagalpur today via Calcutta and staged a three-hour fast under the statue of Jai Prakash Narayan on the premises of Loknayak Jai Prakash Hospital (Sadar hospital).

Glorifying Modi’s ongoing fast, Choubey said such fasting was very essential for maintaining peace and communal harmony in the country. When asked about the recent adverse comments by JD(U) national secretary Shivanand Tiwary, along with the undercurrents between JD(U) and Bihar BJP unit, Choubey tactfully avoided the question and accused the Congress of criticising Modi. “People should not oppose such movements because it was for the promotion of communal harmony and brotherhood,” he said, without naming any person.

“Congress is staging a dharna not only against Modi’s unique mission. The party has a long history of such activities,” he said.

“In my native place, I staged a three-hour fast today to support Modi’s initiative for a good and a noble cause,” he said. “I hope Bihar and Gujarat would play the lead role in changing the fate of the nation and would show the right way to the country,” he claimed.