Totally disapproving firebrand sanyasin Uma Bharti's actions at the Madhya Pradesh Bharatiya Janata Party legislature party meeting on Monday, former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee on Tuesday termed it as the height of indiscipline and said it would not be tolerated.
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Hinting at a possible disciplinary action against Bharti, he said, "All the developments were under the consideration of the party and indiscipline will not be tolerated howsoever big the person is and whatever the issue may be."
"Whatever happened was the height of indiscipline. Internal competition within parties is a sign of healthy politics but when that competition transforms into lust for power and crosses all limits, it creates difficulties in future," Vajpayee told reporters on the sidelines of the weekly BJP Parliamentary Party meeting in New Delhi.
Apparently referring to Bharti's refusal to accept Shivraj Singh Chouhan as the new chief minister replacing Babulal Gaur, he said the party had succeeded in the last Madhya Pradesh Assembly elections with a majority.
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"If there is a change and sometimes change is natural and necessary, it should be accepted," he said, adding, "When chair (power) becomes bigger than our idealism and idealism is put at stake for the lust of power, people will not accept it and neither will the party tolerate it."
Asked whether the party was considering disciplinary action against Bharti, he said, "All matters are under consideration. What happened was sad."
As the legislature party meeting got underway at the BJP state headquarters in Bhopal on Monday, hundreds of Bharti supporters went on the rampage in the premises smashing chairs and other furniture, pulling down a decorated arch and burning effigies of senior BJP leaders, including that of party General Secretary Arun Jaitley.
Saffron-clad Bharti stormed out of the meeting in a huff along with 17 MLAs loyal to her and announced at an impromptu rally of her supporters that she would undertake a 'padyatra' (on-foot journey) to Ayodhya to protest the party central parliamentary board's decision selecting Chouhan to replace Gaur.
Uma Bharti ko gussa kyon aata hai
Vajpayee's statement comes as a setback to Bharti, who had himself incurred the wrath of the entire second generation
leadership in the party earlier.
The former Prime Minister, along with senior leader Jaswant Singh, were considered sympathetic to her cause and played a key role in her nomination as party general secretary at the centre.
Bharti has already earned the ire of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh after she targeted its Joint General Secretary Suresh Soni and charged him with interfering in the party's Madhya Pradesh unit.
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The Vishva Hindu Parishad, which had once even wanted her to become the party president, has also distanced itself from her Ayodhya Yatra. VHP firebrand leader Praveen Togadia has been particularly at odds with her after she targeted him for his remarks against BJP chief L K Advani after his controversial statement on Pakistan founder Mohammad Ali Jinnah.
Last November, Bharti had stormed out of an office bearers meeting and dared Advani to take disciplinary action against her. The party immediately suspended her but revoked it after she tendered an apology.