Sunday, December 4 2005 19:15 Hrs (IST) - World Time -

Raisen (MP) : Mounting a blistering attack on Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leadership, Uma Bharti, defiant over her suspension, today (Dec 04, 2005) asked party President L K Advani and former PM Atal Bihari Vajpayee to 'break their silence against injustice' as party was being hijacked by a handful of leaders who were devoid of ideology and principles.

"The issue is not Shivraj Singh Chouhan, Pramod Mahajan or Arun Jaitley, it is the silence of Atalji and Advaniji. They have been held hostage by a group of leaders whom I consider terrorist hijackers", Bharti told reporters, shortly after disclosing details of her reply to the show-cause notice served on her by the party, at a public meeting here.

"Those holding them hostage have been trying to fulfil their personal interests under the garb of enforcing discipline," the fiery sanyasin alleged in the midst of her Ayodhya march.

"I will wait for both the leaders to reply and correct the flaws within the party during my march to Ayodhya. If I get no response, I will decide my future course of action at the feet of Lord Rama and declare it at Delhi", she said.

Stating that she had given proof of her innocence and that of indiscipline committed by leaders who were present in the Parliamentary board to decide against her, she read out a letter to Advani, which she claimed was her 'decision and affidavit' and wherein she alleged of being betrayed by the party.

Asking saints of Ayodhya not to snatch her right to visit the Ram temple as she was a Hindu, Bharti apparently made an indirect attack on Advani saying, "one derives strength from paying respects at the feet of Rama, and not by offering flowers at (Mohd Ali) Jinnah's tomb".

"Pakistan can betray us, not Rama", she added. Claiming that Rama was the identity of the country and had allowed the BJP to rule and its leaders to gain important posts, she said, "I have never used the name of Rama to realise political goals. I derive strength from him".

Alleging that BJP had 'forgotten' the Ram temple issue after gaining power, she said, "by becoming NDA, it doesn't mean that Ram should be forgotten."

Questioning composition of BJP Parliamentary board, she said, "it has no farmers, OBCs, Dalits, tribals or ideology-based women. It represents 10 per cent of party, not the 90 per cent."

"Lakhs of workers, including those who belong to the reserved class, have been working hard on the streets. Our voters and workers demand to be a part of those making decisions", she said.

"This can't happen, we sweat on the streets and eat dust while you get butter," Uma told reporters after her 45 minute speech, adding "let the people of the country enjoy butter".

Ruling out formation of a new party in the event of her expulsion, she said, "I am not as strong as other leaders. I lack courage. I will only ask Atalji and Advaniji to correct the party in its current form".

"If they keep mum, an event like Mahabharata might take place", she claimed.