SP creating hype around yatra for vote-bank politics: Uma Bharti

Uma Bharti said Samajwadi Party is creating a "hype" around VHP yatra from Ayodhya for vote-bank politics.

New Delhi: Seeking an early resolution of the Ram temple issue, BJP vice president Uma Bharti on Sunday said Samajwadi Party is creating a "hype" around the VHP yatra from Ayodhya for vote-bank politics. "Some people are saying this yatra being taken out by VHP is for political purposes. If that is the case, then I would request the people and the media to stop discussing it. Samajwadi Party turns everything into votebank politics. They did this even in the Durga Shakti Nagpal case," she told reporters here. Bharti, who is an MLA from Charkhari in Uttar Pradesh, alleged that the Samajwadi Party government in the state has created a "hype" around the yatra by saying it will not allow VHP to proceed with it.

Asked about allegations of match-fixing between SP and BJP on the issue, Bharti said, "This is actually a match- fixing between the Congress-led Centre and the Samajwadi Party with CBI working as bookie." She said in the case of SDM Nagpal, who was suspended recently, the Samajwadi Party government had tried to appease the Muslims by saying she had ordered demolition of the wall of a mosque but this was not true. "They (SP) did this to tell the Muslims that they are doing all this for them. Ultimately people from the minority community themselves said it was not a mosque wall," she said. Defending the VHP yatra, she said, "The saints have a special privilege" and they should be allowed to carry out the 84 Kosi Parikrama. She said VHP leader Ashok Singhal has announced there should be no violence. Bharti said if asked she will join the yatra. "For Ram temple, I am ready to fight against anybody, be it the Samajwadi Party or the Akhilesh Yadav government. I can sacrifice my life for the Ayodhya movement," she said. The BJP leader called for an early solution, preferably an out of court settlement, of the Ram temple issue. "My request is that saints raising this issue now should not be questioned as such people have a special privilege. The three-judge bench also said one part of the land belongs to Lord Ram. All three judges agreed on this. I think this is the right time that the Ram temple issue is resolved," Bharti said. Insisting that VHP is "apolitical", she said she had associated herself with the Ram temple movement (in late 1980s and early 1990s) after VHP leader Ashok Singhal asked her to do so. Bharti said the yatra should be allowed to continue and all efforts should be made to make it a success. "Stopping the yatra will vitiate the atmosphere. Next they will say is somebody is going to Ayodhya or to Vrindavan and he should be stopped," she said. Describing herself as a supporter and not a spokesperson of VHP and the yatra, Bharti said the media has got "trapped" by the statements made by leaders on this issue. "People had gone to court on the yatra but it has refused to intervene. The state government should find a way of allowing the yatra. Nobody can be stopped," she said. Asked about the vandalism in a Samajwadi Party office, she said this is unfortunate but claimed those involved are not from VHP. On the issue remarks of some Hindu sadhus that this is not the time when the yatra is taken out, Bharti said there can be a difference of views. "Even during the Ayodhya movement not all sadhus were part of it," she said, adding that even in the freedom struggle everybody did not participate. PTI