The Hindu : National : Uma Bharti to write to Vajpayee too

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Friday, Nov 19, 2004

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National

Uma Bharti to write to Vajpayee too

By Our Special Correspondent

NEW DELHI, NOV. 18. Uma Bharti, suspended Bharatiya Janata Party leader, today sought to make amends for her verbal outburst at a party meeting in the presence of senior leaders, including the former Prime Minister, Atal Bhari Vajpayee, and the party chief, L.K. Advani, on November 10.

In a letter to Mr. Advani, the former Madhya Pradesh Chief Ministerexpressed her willingness to apologise to him for the incident.

Ms. Bharti's offercomes in the wake of efforts by senior functionaries of the Sangh Parivar to bring about a rapprochement in the ranks of the party and eventually pave the way for the BJP leadership to revoke her suspension.

'Political idol'

Striking a conciliatory note, Ms. Bharti said she was "sad at having personally hurt" the BJP president whom she considers not only as her "political idol" but also as a "father figure." She said she was writing a similar letter to Mr. Vajpayee.

In her two-page letter to Mr. Advani, she said her intention was to encourage the party to "introspect" on a serious issue and not to create a controversy. "The issue I raised was of immense political importance but has now been converted into an issue of indiscipline."

She said the motive behind writing the letter was not to plead for the revocation of her suspension. "I am not asking for the suspension to be revoked. It cannot be a one-sided affair, it has to be a two-sided decision."

Ms. Bharti continues to believe that she has been wronged by a section of the party and indicated that she expected them to apologise. "The issues that I raised during my campaigns were meant for the benefit of the party and the country but I was charged with trying to promote myself."

Reaffirming her loyalty to the party, she said: "I will never harm the BJP. But I will always pray to God that the party follows the right path. The country is in a crisis and only a party like the BJP can save it."

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