High on saffron, Uma says BJP is hers; plans another yatra

EXPELLED BJP leader Uma Bharti on Saturday slammed senior party leaders for "giving up the ideology on the basis of which the party was formed" and said: "Ideologically, the BJP belongs to me."

"Rajnath Singh should form a new party. The leaders of BJP, including L.K. Advani, have forsaken the ideology and have lost the confidence of party workers. The BJP flag and the symbol belong to me since I am committed to the saffron ideology," she said.

Riding on the "success of the Ram-Roti Yatra", Bharti said she would launch another yatra -- Janadesh Yatra - on February 6 in Vindhyachal in Mirzapur district. The 90-day yatra will pass through UP, Utranchal, MP, Chattishgarh, Rajasthan, Gujarat, Jharkhand, Bihar, Assam and the states in the south.

"The Janadesh Yatra will conclude at Chitrakoot. After seeking opinion from the people I will decide the future strategy," she said. "Though technically I am not in the BJP, ideologically I very much belong to it. I have not given up the ideology on which BJP was formed. It is for the people and workers to decide who will remain in BJP and who will be out."

Training her gun on Advani, Bharti said, "His statements on Jinnah and the LoC - which he considers the permanent border -- clearly shows that he has put the ideology of BJP on backburner to serve his vested interest." She did not spare A.B. Vajpayee too. "When he was the PM, he gave up swadeshi and followed the Congress policy of globalisation and liberalisation."

Reiterating her commitment for Ram Temple at Ayodhya, Bharti said she was ready to talk to any leader -- including Mulayam Singh Yadav, V.P. Singh, Chandrashekhar or those from other political parties -- for the construction of the temple.