'Atal, Advani betrayed nation'

The expelled leader continued her diatribe against the former PM and the Leader of the Opposition.

Continuing her diatribe against former Prime Minister AB Vajpayee and Leader of the Opposition LK Advani, expelled Bharatiya Janata Party leader Uma Bharti on Tuesday accused the two senior BJP leaders of having "betrayed the nation".

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"While Vajpayee compromised with foreign business organisations, Advani showered praise on Mohammad Ali Jinnah who was responsible for the massacre of lakhs of people during the Partition," she told a public meeting at Jagadishpur near Sultanpur.

Bharti, who is currently on a 'Ram-Roti yatra', alleged that Advani "betrayed the nation by praising Jinnah" and both he and Vajpayee had "forgotten (Lord) Ram after assuming power".

She said the new BJP President Rajnath Singh was faced with the grave challenge to "purify the party as all its general secretaries are neck deep in corruption. Singh will have to rid himself of these people and fulfil the promises made to the people".

The former Union Minister, who has been conferred with the status of state guest by the Uttar Pradesh government, also fired a salvo at the Samajwadi Party, saying the law and order situation in the state had worsened.

"There is a nexus between Chief Minister Mulayam Singh Yadav and criminals," she alleged.