"...Not BJP's Copyright": Upset Uma Bharti Courts More Trouble For Party

A day after she told BJP supporters that they should "look around" and decide which party to vote for, senior BJP leader Uma Bharti has courted more trouble for the party. Devotion to Lord Ram and Hanuman is not the copyright of the BJP, she said while responding to a question on former Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Kamal Nath getting a Hanuman temple built in the state.

She has also been cornering the Shivraj Singh Chouhan-led state government with a prohibition demand. Recently, she made headlines for throwing stones at a liquor store while demanding a blanket ban on alcohol in Madhya Pradesh.

Ms Bharti, also a former Chief Minister of the state and one of the party's tallest leaders there, has reportedly been upset with the party leadership for sidelining her.

She backed BJP MP Pragya Singh Thakur's controversial remark that Hindus should keep weapons at home.

"Even Lord Rama had taken a vow not to give up weapons during his exile," she said, adding that it is not wrong to keep arms, but it's wrong to have violent thoughts.

Uma Bharti was in Chhindwara, where Pragya Thakur had made her provocative remarks, to participate in several events.

On the uproar over the film 'Pathan', Uma Bharti questioned the need for protests. "The censor board of the BJP government should immediately remove the objectionable scenes," she said, adding that there is no need for politics in this.

"Scenes that hurt anyone's religious sentiments should be removed. India will not tolerate insult of any colour. Saffron is the identity of Indian culture, the censor board should immediately remove the scenes," she said.

Uma Bharti also took a dig at senior Congress leader Salman Khurshid, who recently compared the ongoing pan-India march of the Congress, the 'Bharat Jodo Yatra', to the epic Ramayana, and party leader Rahul Gandhi to Lord Ram.

"It's wrong to compare Lord Shri Ram, the lord of the universe, with Rahul Gandhi. They are only making themselves subjects of ridicule," she said, adding that there is no need for any 'Jodo Yatra' in India.

The divide is more visible in the Congress itself, she said, and further took a jibe at Salman Khurshid. "I thought they had dug him out of the Mohenjo-daro civilization," she said.