Atal's words on Uma's return insincere: BJ

Lucknow, June 7: Uma Bharti-led Bharatiya Janshakti (BJ) today said the recent statement of former prime minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee that doors were open for the expelled Ms Bharti and former Delhi chief minister Madanlal Khurana was emotional but lacked sincerity.

''Mr Vajpayee is a senior leader who commands a lot of respect.

His statement could be a result of his feeling towards Ms Bharti.

But at the same time, it lacks conviction as he has no executive powers to enforce his words,'' said BJ senior vice-president Sanghpriya Gautam.

He claimed that if the BJP was at all serious about their return, it could have moved a resolution in its national executive held in the National Capital recently.

Mr Gautam also did not deny that the statement was aimed at preempting moves by BJP leaders to join BJ. ''Leaders want to join us as we are the real alternative for BJP,'' he added.

He said the former PM's statement terming Rahul Mahajan episode as a mistake of youthful days was also made without thinking about its larger impact.

He claimed that Ms Bharti would tour parts of Uttar Pradesh between July 2 and 25. ''After covering the districts of Kannauj, Auriyya, Orai, Aligarh, Ghaziabad, Chirgaon, Muzzafarnagar, Mainpuri and Etah, she would enter Uttaranchal.''

UNI