The Hindu : Uma Bharti vows to unseat Cong. in M.P.

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Thursday, Apr 17, 2003

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National

Uma Bharti vows to unseat Cong. in M.P.

By Lalit Shastri

PANDHURNA (MADHYA PRADESH) APRIL 16. The Bharatiya Janata Party leader, Uma Bharti, today launched her party's campaign for the Madhya Pradesh Assembly elections by beginning her "sankalp yatra" from the Chamatkarik Shri Hanuman temple at Jam Sanvli in Chhindwara district.

Ms. Bharti, who was flagged off from the temple by a Dalit woman, was joined on this occasion by the Union Law Minister, Arun Jaitley, the State BJP president, Kailash Joshi, the Leader of the Opposition in the State Assembly, Babulal Gaur, the State BJP vice-president, Gauri Shankar Shejwar, and Nitin Gadkari, Leader of the Opposition in the Maharashtra State Assembly.

Today being Hanuman Jayanti, thousands of devotees were at the temple when Ms. Bharti reached there in a motorcade. After offering prayers, she limbed a specially decked up "rath" (chariot) built on a lorry chassis.

Addressing the huge gathering there, Ms. Bharti said that after having vowed to remove the Congress Government headed by Digvijay Singh, she was now starting her "yatra" with the blessings of Lord Hanuman.

Her goal was to pave the way for a BJP Government in Madhya Pradesh.

"The BJP," she said, "is committed to ensuring the welfare of Dalits, backward sections, women and farmers."

Mr. Jaitley said Ms. Bharti would now bring about a change in Madhya Pradesh.

Addressing a public rally at Ramlila Grounds here, Ms. Bharti said the Chief Minister, Digvijay Singh, had the opportunity to serve the people of the State for ten years "but what have we — a State that has been pushed back several years in terms of development?"

"We have only been hearing speeches but nothing concrete has been done on the ground in the State," she said, adding that everyone knew about the problems of power supply, poor roads, drinking water crisis and lack of employment in the State.

Criticising the State Government's move to allot land to the landless people belonging to the SC/ST communities, Ms. Bharti said that instead of doling out uncultivable land, the Congress leaders, "who own hundreds of acres of land", should volunteer to distribute their own land to the deprived sections.

On the latest State Government initiative to distribute the entire profit from sale of teak and bamboos to the forest dwellers, she said the tribals, instead of living on alms, should fight for their rights like the proverbial "tiger in the wild".

She sought the people's cooperation in "demolishing" the Digvijay Singh Government and specially urged them to pledge their support to the "cause of cows".

It was her earnest desire to turn the State into India's Holland.

She even criticised the Chief Minister for writing to the Prime Minister about a ban on cow slaughter and referred to his silence on the issue when his party had distanced itself from the private member's bill moved in Parliament by BJP's Prahlad Patel.

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