Wednesday, November 30 2005 19:00 Hrs (IST) - World Time -

New Delhi: Joining Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), the Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) today (Nov 30, 2005) sought to distance itself from its Hindutva icon Uma Bharti saying a suspension was an internal matter of Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).

While maintaining that the BJP did not follow the correct procedure in electing Shivraj Singh Chouhan as the Chief Minister of Madhya Pradesh, VHP senior Vice President Acharya Giriraj Kishore told source, "Discipline is an internal matter of the party and we have nothing to say about it."

He, however, said Bharti's suspension was unfortunate for both her and the party.

On the Parliamentary Board decision to nominate Chouhan, which had provoked Bharti, he said, "Either the Parliamentary Board should not have nominated anybody or there should have been no election at the Legislature Party meeting."

He, however, maintained that VHP was not against Chouhan, but only the procedure adopted to nominate him.

Asked whether VHP would welcome Bharti into its fold, Kishore said, "It is for her to decide. We will welcome her if she comes to Ayodhya as part of the padayatra."