BJP's tall leaders dwarfed after Uma's entry: Digvijaya

Lakhimpur, Uttar Pradesh: Seeking to drive a wedge between BJP leaders in Uttar Pradesh, Congress general secretary Digvijaya Singh today said roping in Uma Bharti amounted to dwarfing stalwarts like Rajnath Singh, Kalraj Mishra and Vinay Katiyar. “Sidelining these leaders, BJP brought in UP a leader who had boycotted the party meeting after misbehaving with Advaniji and left the party and also is an accused in the Babri Mosque demolition case,” the Congress leader said.[caption id=“attachment_192833” align=“alignleft” width=“380” caption=“Hitting out at the BJP. PTI”] [/caption] BJP said that the former Madhya Pradesh chief minister will contest from the Charkhari constituency in Uttar Pradesh’s Mahoba district, sparking speculation that the OBC leader may be projected as the chief ministerial candidate. Attacking Bharti, Singh said, “A leader, who lost even her security during election in her home constituency (in Madhya Pradesh), has now been brought to UP to boost BJP.” He said Rajnath Singh deserved sympathy as he could not secure party ticket even for his son despite being former BJP national president and when efforts were made to nominate his son as general secretary, there was uproar in the party. Accusing the BJP of disrupting the communal harmony, Singh alleged that the party’s politics began and ended with Hindu-Muslim tension. Addressing an election meeting at Shankarpur crossing under the Mohammadi Assembly constituency to campaign for party candidates Ashfaq Ulla Khan from Mohammadi and Banshi Dhar Raj from Kasta, Singh alleged that, “RSS activists indulged in terrorist activities whether be it Mecca Mecca Masjid bombing or Malegaon blast.” Accusing the SP of having sympathy for RSS, he said, “After a thorough research, I have come to the conclusion that SP supremo Mulayam Singh Yadav has not uttered a single word against the RSS.” Terming Yadav as an opportunist, the Congress leader alleged that he (Mulayam) keeps a door open to grab power even with the support of BJP. Singh demanded a CBI probe into the alleged suicide by Sunil Verma, a key accused in the multi-crore NRHM scam in Uttar Pradesh. PTI