Top BJP leaders to join Bharatiya Janashakti- Uma Bharati

Bhubaneswar, May 14 (UNI) Bharatiya Janashakti Party national president Uma Bharati today claimed that a number of senior BJP leaders will join her party before the 2009 Parliamentary elections.

Ms Bharati said many of them were in touch with her and waiting for the BJP's performance in the Assembly elections in Chhattisgarh, Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh.

''While one group in the BJP believes in ideologies, the other is ready to go to any extent for the sake of power,'' she said, adding that the leaders who believe in ideology would leave the BJP and join her party.

Ms Bharati denied that she had any plan to rejoin the BJP.

''There was no discussion on the issue since April 2006,'' she said, adding that neither the BJP had sent any missive to her to join their party, nor had she any discussion in this regard since April 2006.

She described the report of her returning to the BJP as a conspiracy by some people with vested interests.

Ms Bharati said the BJP had already moved away from its ideology and no longer believed in 'Swadeshi'.

Replying to a question, Ms Bharati said she was ready for alliance with any party, which believed in her ideology on Ram Mandir and Ram Sethu.

''I will not approach any political party for alliance. If they want they could approach us,'' she added.

Expressing shock and regret over the serial blasts in Jaipur yesterday, which claimed about 70 lives, Ms Bharati said the central intelligence had the information about it, but they did not share it with the state government.

Accusing the US of such incidents, she said the US had crossed all limits while dealing with terrorism, but when we wanted to deal with it, they put a number of restrictions.

''Terrorists supported by Islamic fundamentalists were creating problem in the country and we should fight it unitedly,'' she said.

Her party also demanded provision for reservation for backward class women within the proposed 33 per cent reservations of seats both in the Assembly and Parliament.

She said her party would strengthen its base in Orissa by raising various issues like poverty, corruption and economic disparity, adding that the party would field candidates in all the 147 seats in the coming elections.

UNI BD DP PP RN SBC RN1751