Describing Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi as a 'pseudo Hindu,' Bhartiya Janshakti Party president Uma Bharti on Wednesday urged the senior BJP leader and three-time Chief Minister Keshubhai Patel to lead from the front against Modi.
"The rebels in Gujarat are in touch with me. They wanted to fight the assembly polls on the Janshakti platform. Since we do not have our party structure in the poll-bound state, I had requested Keshubhai to come out in the front against Modi," Bharti told media persons in Bhopal.
"I have got a letter from the father of slain BJP leader Haren Pandya and also from many other leaders to launch an outfit in Gujarat to prevent Modi from coming back to power," Bharti said.
Terming Modi as 'pseudo Hindu,' Bharti said he has been described as 'Vikas purush' (development-oriented man), but his main poll plank is 'Ram Sethu.'
When asked whether Keshubhai is in touch with her, she said that once she had called him over phone and at that time she had asked him to lead from the front against Modi and had assured him full support.
To a question when she is launching her party in Gujarat, Bharti said that she would take a decision after November 1.
Ridiculing the BJP leader's effort to exploit Ram Sethu issue, Bharti said both Modi and leader of opposition, L K Advani have no right to take up the issue as they have never visited Rameshwaram nor had staged protest on the issue of Sethu Samudram Project.
The former Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister, who parted ways with BJP three years ago, also alleged that during the tenure of Modi, large numbers of Hindus (more than Muslims) were killed in the communal clashes but it was not highlighted in the media.
Whatever development is visible in Gujarat is because of its powerful NRI (Gujarati) community and also due to the policies of Keshubhai, she said, adding no major project has come to Gujarat during the tenure of Modi.
Answering a query on how he managed to won the polls last time, she said it was because of media hype given to the Godhra carnage and also a statement of Pakistan president Pervez Musharraf on the issue.
She said that people in Gujarat consider voting for Congress as equivalent of casting ballot in favour of Musharraf and therefore, they are looking for a third alternative and have high hopes from Keshubhai Patel.
