Uma faces expulsion

BJP to discuss disciplinary action against defiant ex-CM

Fiery Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Uma Bharati faces suspension and possible expulsion from the party for storming out of the Madhya Pradesh Legislature Party meeting yesterday.

Bharati however continued her defiance in the face of this threat, with even the sympathetic ex Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee castigating her actions yesterday as gross indiscipline and a "lust for power".

According to party general secretary Pramod Mahajan, a meeting of the BJP Parliamentary Board has been convened tomorrow to discuss what action is to be taken against Bharati.

"Already 13 leaders of the party including former minister Prahlad Patel have been issued show cause notices," he said. Bharati termed the description of her behaviour indisciplined as being unfair.

She said, "when Sushma Swaraj, after her defeat in the Delhi elections said that the party had defeated her, she was not called indisciplined, when Pramod Mahajan wrote an article criticising Narendra Modi in the party organ BJP Today, the action was not termed as indiscipline, Arun Jaitley fought cases against the BJP led Rajasthan government and his conduct was not termed as indisciplined. Why, even Advaniji was not declared as being indisciplined for his remarks on Jinnah. It seems there is one set of values for the sheep (herself) and another for Bulls (the rest)," she declared.

Stung by Bharati's outburst, the BJP's second leadership voiced its protest. Party general secretary Arun Jaitley said that the nomination of Shivraj Singh Chouhan's name by the parliamentary board was according to established procedures of the party.

"According to clause 25 of the BJP central constitution, the party's parliamentary board is well within its powers to nominate a candidate and the name is then considered by the MLAs. Uma Bharati's own election as Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister was according to this procedure," he said.

Jaitley added that the "big picture" in yesterday's incident was that it was a case of 154 against 17, ie, only 17 MLAs walked out with Bharati. "The myth that Uma Bharati has the support of over hundred MPs has been broken," he said.

"No action will be taken against those who voted against Chouhan since they did this in a party forum, but action will be initiated against those who indulged in violence outside the party office in Bhopal," he added.

However, party sources admit that they are worried about the fact that Bharati is a popular leader, and despite the diktat of the party high command, 17 MLAs did walk out with her. "It is unprecedented, even in Kalyan Singh's case such a thing did not happen," said a senior leader.

Apart from everything, Bharati still has the capacity to embarrass the party, especially as she plans to take the fight to the streets with her padyatra to Ayodhya with frequent pit stops. "It is no secret that there is intense rivalry in the second rung of the BJP, and she has many embarrassing details up her eeve," added a senior leader.