Uma Bharti unwilling to rejoin party

In a freewheeling chat with HT, BJP national president Nitin Gadkari said Uma Bharti told him she was unwilling to rejoin politics for now.

In a freewheeling chat with HT, BJP national president Nitin Gadkari said Uma Bharti told him she was unwilling to rejoin politics for now. This admission, coming close on the heels of the fiery Sanyasin’s reported statement that she was not keen on returning to the party, suggests that her much-anticipated return may not happen after all. The BJP chief opened up on Bharti and many other issues:

HT Image

You had talked about bringing Uma Bharti back into the party. Recently, she reportedly said she was not interested. Is the proposal to bring her back still alive?

Unhonein mujhse kaha ki unki manah-sthiti achhi nahin hai (She told me her state of mind right now is not good) and that she is postponing her return to politics.

She was reported to have said that she had not been treated well in the party and that all parties were corrupt, though she later denied it. What do you have to say on that?

When she has herself denied it, I don’t want to say anything.

Your party leader and PAC chairperson Murli Manohar Joshi has said that the powers of the PAC are not limited to the CAG report. Does this not run counter to the BJP’s argument that the PAC is confined to the CAG, and that a JPC with wider powers is required to look into the 2 G and other scams?

What do you make of the Prime Minister’s offer to appear before the PAC?

Perhaps the Prime Minister is not aware of Parliamentary procedure. The PAC cannot call the Prime Minister.

What do you have to say about the Hindutva terror charges made by Congress leader Digvijaya Singh on the RSS, as also Rahul Gandhi’s reported statements as reported in the Wikileaks cables?

When Muslims voted for the BJP in Bihar, the Congress thought its monopoly of Muslim votes got disturbed. So, under inspiration from Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi, Digvijaya Singh is making divisive statements and is lying about Hemant Karkare. The latter’s widow also refuted his statements. There should be an FIR and case against him for destroying communal harmony. Congress should probe what he has said. If he is lying about Karkare, they must take strict action against him. He is speaking, but the thinking and spirit of Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi is behind his words.

What do you think about BJP Rajya Sabha MP Ram Jethmalani’s offer to fight Binayak Sen’s case?

A professional lawyer is free to take any case. Profession and politics should be kept apart. It is not as if a BJP doctor will refuse to treat a Congressman.