Ahmedabad, Sep. 17 : Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday began his three-day "Sadbhavna" fast with a call for "peace, unity and communal harmony".

The veteran BJP leader's 72-hour fast coincided with his 62nd birthday at the Gujarat University Convention Centre here.

A host of leaders from the BJP, the Shiromani Akali Dal and the All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam were present on the occasion.

Security was extremely tight at the venue.

Seeking the blessings of the people of the state ahead of his three-day fast, Modi said the event "is not against anyone and that he still had pain in his heart for those who suffered during the 2002 riots in Gujarat and even now

Reaching out to the minority Muslim community, Modi said Gujarat has realized that communal frenzy and casteism never helped anybody grow in the country and expressed "gratitude" to those who pointed out his mistakes in the last ten years.

"My fast has nothing to do with my birthday. It was just a convenient weekend. More than my voice, my fast will reach people with my message," said Modi, adding that his education and cultural upbringing did not permit him to celebrate his birthday.

"I have never picked up my phone, never met anybody. Not even today am I celebrating," said Modi

He further said that the: "Gujarat laboratory is the model that has shown how togetherness and brotherhood can lead to development and progress."

"If every state moves a few steps forward, the country moves ahead. So, development of Gujarat is a national cause, a national workload. I can see the future. I can see Gujarat being a model of Sadbhavana (amity). Others spend millions on such an event. Development is our mantra. Gujarat doesn''t need unsolicited advice. We have found our own method and succeeded in our cause," Modi added

"I can say with pride that we want to move ahead and give something back to the nation. A state like Gujarat can pull another state which is not so developed. We have the strength and the capability," he added.

Recounting the Gujarat earthquake of 2001, the communal violence of 2002 and the serial blasts of 2008, Modi said that each time the people have emerged stronger and have touched new heights of development.

"We have to move ahead taking everyone along and for that secularism and communal harmony is very important," he said.

Hinting on the recent US panel report praising the development in Gujarat, he said, "After the Gujarat earthquake people started to feel that Gujarat will never grow again. But it bounced back and became a developed state. People said nobody will invest in Gujarat but we overcame that difficulty and reached new heights of development."

"I dedicate myself to you (people of Gujarat), bless me. I pray also to God to bless me with strength that I should not have revenge, hate and disgust. We will never go out of the parameters of humanity. Gujarat is my family. Their happiness and pain is mine. Their hopes and dreams are mine," Modi said

BJP leaders L K Advani, Arun Jaitely, Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi, Sahanawaz Hussain, Smriti Irani and Himachal Pradesh Chief Minister Prem Kumar Dhumal, among others, were present when Modi began his fast.

Punjab Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal was also present. Leaders of the Shiv Senaand emissaries of Tamil Nadu Chief Minister J Jayalalitha of the AIADMK were also there to in support of Modi.

In his speech, Advani said: " If there was any doubt about his (Modi's) intentions, now it is clear even to those people that Sadbhavana is his aim and goal and the reason for fast."

He further said: "If we have zero tolerance towards terrorism and corruption, then we can take not just Gujarat, but even India forward."

Senior BJP leader Arun Jaitley, praising the administrative capability and achievements of Modi during his rule of almost a decade, said: "Gujarat has seen national calamities as well as communal riots, but a strong government with a clear goal knows how to come out of all this."

He added that The Economist had described Gujarat as the engine of India''s economic growth, and in stark comparison, there was a government at the Centre that was a model of corruption.

"There is a weak and useless government at the Centre, and on the other, there is Gujarat, where there is development, Sadbhavana (amity), a model state," said Jaitely.

In a further comparison, he said that the state of Punjab had been a major victim of terrorism, but had rebuilt itself under the stewardship of Prakash Singh Badal. Similarly, Gujarat too had rebuilt itself under the leadership of Modi.

The BJP has claimed that Modi''s fast is in recognition of the clean chit given by the Supreme Court to him on charges of conspiracy leveled by Zakia Jafri, the widow of the late Congress lawmaker Ehsan Jafri, who was among the 69 people who died in the Gulberg Housing Society massacre of 2002.

On the eve of his fast, Modi issued a statement that 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 in the state is my pain. (Delivering) Justice to everyone is the duty of the state," Modi had said yesterday.

Modi also spoke about the spiritual and philosophical side of the fast.

"My heart says if I fast, my words will get power. More than my words, my fast will be supported more. My intention was only to express not to be against anyone," he said.

"I would like to remind people about those days of 1990s, when the entire Gujarat was clamped under curfew. Now everyone in Gujarat is happy, Gujarat has realized the importance of peace, brotherhood. It's only because of the development in the state," he added. (ANI)