BJP throws Uma Bharti out

Advani also ticks off Shahnawaz, Naqvi for indiscipline

Meetings of office-bearers in the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) are never televised. These meetings are always held in the quiet of closed rooms.

When television channels were told that they could attend the BJP office-bearers' meeting, they had no idea they would be recording a piece of history ""the suspension of the ultimate symbol of saffron, Uma Bharti, on charges of indiscipline from the primary membership of the BJP.

Party chief LK Advani began speaking at the meeting with the obligatory reference to the Congress and its bankruptcy of philosophy, but soon he turned to the affairs in his own party.

"Why do people speak against each other in the media. There is a limit to how much departure from discipline can be tolerated," he said.

"Our heads hang in shame that we are always in the news for the wrong reasons," he said. He named former Civil Aviation Minister Shahnawaz Hussain, former General Secretary Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi and former Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Uma Bharti in this context and said if he were to gloss over their misdemeanours, he would not be doing justice to his position as the part president(Mein apne kartavya ka paalan nahin kar raha hoonga).

While the other two leaders just hung their head and listened quietly to Advani's criticism, Bharti got up to interrupt Advani and challenged him to define "indiscipline".

She said four or five leaders had ganged up against her and spread stories against her at off-the-record briefings. This was also lack of disciplined and needed to be discussed, she added.

"People here are not similarly capable (of planting stories in the media). So we are forced to save our honour by being compelled to speak on record and that is branded as indiscipline. These leaders have no work because they are in the Rajya Sabha and do off the record briefings. They do not want anything to be discussed," she said

The stunned BJP brass just looked on wordlessly as Advani raised his voice, an unknown occurrence in the BJP, and said: "Uma, what I had to say, I have said. I have said this matter is being closed. Closed means closed for all".

At this, Bharti walked out of the meeting saying: "I am leaving, I would urge you to take the strongest possible action against me." She was red in the face and shaking with anger. As reporters chased her she shouted: "You people go back else I will call the security personnel".

At this stage, cameras were hustled out of the room by party media cell managers in an attempt to limit the damage. To take procedural action against her, party General Secretary Rajnath Singh raised the issue of her walk-out, which was supported by other office-bearers who demanded action against her. BJP General Secretary Ananth Kumar moved the resolution for her suspension.

BJP Vice-President Bal Apte was sent to her with a formal notice, asking why she should not be removed from the party permanently.

Later, party leader Jaswant Singh came out of the hall to tell reporters that Bharti would be served a show-cause notice and had been suspended "on account of her conduct".

After this, there was an effort to get on with business as usual. Advani asked Jaswant Singh to brief the participants on the international situation. But it was clear the party was shocked to the core.

Bharti has few friends in the party and has made many enemies. On her short list of enemies are former party chief M Venkiah Naidu with whom she had such a serious spat that it required Advani's intervention to sort it out; Pramod Mahajan whom she charged with sabotaging her campaign in Maharashtra, and Arun Jaitely who was general secretary in charge of the Madhya Pradesh Assembly elections and whose interventions Bharti resented and rubbished publicly.

Soon after the BJP meeting, Bharti went to Keshav Kunj, the Delhi headquarters of the RSS. But there was no public reaction to her behaviour from there. RSS sources said she apprised Sangh's joint general secretary in charge of BJP affairs, Madan Das Devi of the events leading to today.