Top BJP leaders to join Bharatiya Janashakti: Uma Bharti

Bhubaneswar, May 14 (UNI) Bharatiya Janashakti Party National President Uma Bharti today claimed that a number of top rung leaders of the BJP would join the her party before the 2009 parliamentary elections.

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

She said while one group within the BJP believe in ideology, the other is ready to go to any extent for the sake of power.

The leaders, who believe in ideology would leave BJP and join her party, she said.

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

''There has been 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 with any body since April 2006.

She described the report of her returning to BJP as a conspiracy by some people with vested interest. Ms Bharti said the BJP had already moved away from its ideology and no longer believed in Swadeshi.

Replying to a question, Ms Bharti said she was ready to make alliance with any party, who believed in her ideology like Hinduism, Ram Mandir and Ram Setu.

She said she would not approach any political party for alliance if any party wanted they could approach ''us''.

Ms Bharti expressed her shock and regret over the serial bomb blast at Jaipur yesterday which claimed around 70 lives.

She said the central intelligence had the information about it but they did not share it with the state government.

Ms Bharti blamed the US for terrorism and said it happened as US crossed all limits, while dealing with the terrorism but when we wanted to deal with it they put a number of restrictions.

The kind of US policy would definitely disturb international peace, she said.

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

The Bharatiya Janashakti leaders also demanded provision for reservation for women belonging to the backward classes within the proposed 33 per cent reservations of seats made for women both in Assembly and Parliament.

Ms Bharti said Orissa is the only coastal state with large number of poor people in the country. People in the state die of hunger which is rich in minerals, diamond, rugby and other valuable minerals.

She said her party would strengthen the party base in the state by raising various issues like poverty, corruption and economic disparity.

She said her party would field candidates in all the 147 seats in the coming Orissa elections.

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