Lucknow: Former Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Kalyan Singh on May 8 hit out at senior Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leaders Rajnath Singh and Kalraj Mishra, who are reportedly opposing his return to BJP and admitted he had received an offer to come back to the party-fold.

Singh told reporters that "reports of my comeback in the party has irked leaders like Kalraj Mishra and Rajnath Singh and they are issuing statements suggesting that there is no place for me in BJP".

Instead of giving statements, these leaders should first consult the three senior leaders (Balbir Singh Punj, Dinanath Mishra and S Gurumurthy) who had met him last month, Singh said.

Admitting he had got an offer from BJP to stage a comeback, Singh claimed he had turned it down and would now work towards strengthening his Rashtriya Kranti Party and formulate a strategy for next year's Lok Sabha elections with Samajwadi Party.

Referring to Kalraj Mishra's remark on May 7 that Punj, Dinanath Mishra and Gurumurthy had met Kalyan Singh in their personal capacity, the former Chief Minister said, "I urge him to first talk to these three BJP emissaries before making any comment on the issue as they had come to me with a specific mission."

Kalyan Singh said, "With leaders like Rajnath Singh and Kalraj Mishra, whose mass support was well known, BJP should not be looking for enemies outside to sink its ship."

Kalyan Singh reiterated he had never criticised Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee and Deputy Prime Minister L K Advani.

PTI