Tuesday, April 19 2005 20:28 Hrs (IST) - World Time -

Amarkantak (MP) : In an apparent bid to keep both the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) and Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in good humour, sidelined party leader Uma Bharati today (Apr 19, 2005) said that the Sangh chief was God to her and that octogenarians have led many a great battle.

"Atalji and Advaniji are the topmost people in our party and Sudarshan is God for us. I cannot comment on what they say but I would say that when a General led the forces in the battlefield of Panipat, his age was above 80. This much I would like to say," she said in Amarkantak.

Bharati was responding to questions about the RSS chief's remarks on the issue of leadership in BJP and Vajpayee's remarks today that it was for Advani to decide whether he should pave the way for the younger generation in the party.

The former Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister said that there appeared to be "some misunderstanding" about the term 'sanskar' used by Sudarshan while referring to her family in his controversial television interview.

"Perhaps he wanted to say that since I was a saint in my previous birth, I was not born in a family of saints in this birth. Even otherwise, we treat the RSS chief like God and we don't comment on his remarks," she said.

On BJP vice-president M Venkaiah Naidu's reported remarks that she can work as an ordinary worker, she said, "I have absolutely no problems. The RSS chief's statement that one should retire keeping in view the age factor is applicable to me at the age of 45 itself".