I was mentally tortured in BJP, says Vajpayee's niece

A day after resigning from the Bharatiya Janata Party, former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee's niece Karuna Shukla alleged that she had been "mentally tortured" by the party in Chhattisgarh.

"I feel that the BJP in Chhattisgarh was mentally torturing me because of which I felt that my usefulness to the party had come to an end," Shukla, an ex-MP from Janjgir and former member of the undivided Madhya Pradesh Assembly, told PTI on Sunday.

She had resigned from the BJP on Saturday, alleging that she was being "continuously neglected" by senior leaders. She said her resignation from the party had nothing to do with seeking a ticket from Beltara (in Chhattisgarh) seat for next month's assembly elections.

"Every party worker has a right to ask for an election ticket but not much importance can be attached to whether he gets it or not," said Shukla, also a former national president of BJP Mahila Morcha.

She alleged that she was removed from all posts that she had in the party and was not consulted for anything. Shukla said that she was very sad at quitting the BJP but because the manner in which the party "treated" her, she was forced to leave it.

The ticket could never be an issue for her as she had become an MLA in 1993 and a MP in 2004, she said. The former MP said she had spent five days seeking a meeting in New Delhi with BJP president Rajnath Singh, but he could not find the time to meet her.

"I can understand that he can be busy but at least he should have replied to my phone calls," Shukla said. She said it was strange that the BJP did not treat her gracefully although she had served the party for more than 30 years.

Asked if there was any chance that she may now join the Congress, the former MP said that she would never do so.

She said that she had been getting offers from various political parties, but after quitting the BJP she does not want to join any other party.