The Hindu : Karnataka News : Uma Bharti accuses Congress of hypocrisy

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Monday, Sep 13, 2004

Karnataka

Karnataka

Uma Bharti accuses Congress of hypocrisy

By Our Staff Correspondent

BIDAR, SEPT. 12. Continuing her attack on the Congress and its leaders on the third day of her `tiranga yatra' on Sunday, the BJP leader and former Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister, Uma Bharti, accused that party of practising double standards and indulging in hypocrisy on the Veer Savarkar issue.

Addressing a rally here, she said: "At the national level, leaders such as (Union Petroleum Minister) Mani Shankar Aiyar try to create an image of the party that is anti-Savarkar. In Maharashtra, leaders such as (Sushil Kumar) Shinde try to project a pro-Savarkar image." These are aimed at securing votes at the respective levels, and there was no ideology involved, she said.

Ms. Bharti challenged Mr. Shinde to clarify his stand on Savarkar by ending the plaque row which his party had created. "I call upon Mr. Shinde to lead a delegation to the Prime Minister, Manmohan Singh, and ensure that the plaque at the cellular jail in Andaman and Nicobar islands, which was removed at the behest of Mr. Aiyar, was restored."

Ram temple

Ms. Bharti accused Jawaharlal Nehru of starting controversies and cited the locking of the Ram temple at Ayodhya. "If he had allowed Hindus to worship the idols, he would have ended up upsetting the Muslims. But if he had the idols removed from there, he would have hurt the sentiments of the Hindus. He wanted to do neither of this," she charged.

Coming down on the style of functioning of the Chief Minister, N. Dharam Singh, she said Mr. Singh did not take independent decisions. "His governance is like use of a television which is put on and off with a remote control. Here, the remote is in New Delhi," she said.

Controversies

Ms. Bharti charged the Congress with creating controversies about the BJP. "We are clear about our intentions. If there are any controversies about the yatra, they are the ones created by the Congress," she said.

Ms. Bharti accused the Congress of causing distrust between Hindus and Muslims. The Congress had been creating a fear among Muslims about the `tiranga yatra.' "But what happened? There was no problem anywhere because of the yatra," she said.

`Conflict in Congress'

The former Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister said there was conflict within the Congress. "Mr. Dharam Singh wants the case against me withdrawn. But the KPCC President, B. Janardhana Poojary, says the Government will appeal in the High Court against the decision. Let them first resolve the issue before issuing statements in public," Ms. Bharti said.

Ms. Bharti said a Government which had failed to capture Veerappan for so long had sent a police team to arrest her as if she had committed a wrong. "I have never heard of any Chief Minister trying to arrest another (Chief Minister)," Ms. Bharti said.

Ms. Bharti criticised the Prime Minister for retaining "tainted" Ministers in his Cabinet.

"Some people have tried to equate me with tainted Ministers such as Lalu Prasad. The cases against me are totally different from those faced by Mr. Lalu Prasad."

People thanked

Later speaking to presspersons, she thanked the people of the State for "the love and affection showered" on her during the yatra.

"The response of the people has been tremendous. People gathered in large numbers in Hubli for a function that was organised at only an hour's notice. Huge crowds waited in heavy rain in Bijapur, and the response in Gulbarga was also good."

Ms. Bharti said she had emotional attachment with the State. "Vishwesha Tirtha Swamiji of Pejawar Math is my guru who gave me sanyas in 1992. Karnataka is also the land where Lord Hanuman, whom I worship, was born," she said.

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