"Won't Go Even If I'm Invited": Uma Bharti On No Call For Big BJP March

A day after expressing her disappointment at not being invited to her party's Jan Ashirwad Yatra in Madhya Pradesh, senior BJP leader Uma Bharti today said that she would not be a part of the yatra even if she received an invitation.

The former Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister kicked off a storm within the party yesterday after suggesting that BJP leaders would be "nervous" if she was present during the yatra as all the attention would be on her.

"Maybe they (the BJP leaders) are nervous that if I'm there, then entire public attention will be on me," said the 64-year-old.

The senior leader continued her tirade against the state BJP leadership on social media today.

"It is true that I did not receive an invitation to the Jan Ashirwad Yatra at the beginning. However, whether or not I receive an invitation does not make me any less or more important. If I am invited now, I will not go. I will not attend either the beginning or the closing ceremony on September 25th," she wrote on X, formerly known as Twitter.

BJP national president JP Nadda on Sunday flagged off the yatra in the poll-bound state. The yatra will pass through the Vindhya region of the state where the BJP won 24 of the 30 seats in the 2018 assembly elections.

In 2003, Ms Bharti led the BJP to a landslide victory in Madhya Pradesh, ending the 10-year rule of the Congress party headed by Digvijaya Singh. However, she was expelled from the BJP in 2005 for indiscipline and reinstated only in 2011.

Despite her criticism of the state BJP unit, the firebrand leader said that she will continue her bond with Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan and campaign for the party as and when asked.

Continuing her attack on political leaders, Ms Bharti stressed the difference between government and private hospitals. She also criticised the "5-star hotel" culture prevalent among politicians.

"All of us, leaders, MLAs, MPs, ministers, chief ministers, and all officers should be treated in government hospitals, and our children should be sent to study in government schools. Only then can these systems be improved.

"I have always considered the wasteful expenditure of weddings and the stay of our leaders in 5-star hotels to be wrong. Prime Minister Modi also strongly dislikes this lifestyle. I will continue to say this in the future as well. We cannot ignore the teachings of Mahatma Gandhi ji, Deendayal Upadhyay ji, and PM Modi ji," she wrote.

The 230-member Madhya Pradesh Legislative Assembly election is scheduled to be held later this year.

PM Modi is expected to address BJP workers in Bhopal on September 25, the birth anniversary of Deendayal Upadhyaya, a key BJP ideologue.