New Delhi: Bharatiya Janata Party leader Uma Bharti, an accused in the Babri Masjid demolition case, who has been instructed to be present in court for the verdict on September 30, has in a letter to party president J.P. Nadda said that she will not seek bail and is prepared to be hanged if found guilty.
The letter, in which she also noted that the task of “establishing Ram Rajya” remains unfulfilled, came just days before the special CBI court’s verdict announcement in Lucknow.
On September 26, Bharti wrote in a letter on which several outlets, including The Print, had reported. “I do not know what the Ayodhya judgement will be on 30 September but I will not seek bail,” she wrote.
A former Union minister, who served in Atal Bihari Vajpayee’s second and third government and the first Narendra Modi government, Uma Bharti was brought into the party by Vijaya Raje Scindia.
During the Ram Janmabhoomi movement, she became a prominent face of the party and became known for her fiery speeches.
Following the demolition of the Babri Masjid, a conspiracy charge was invoked against Bharti and senior BJP leaders L.K. Advani and Murli Manohar Joshi, by the Supreme Court in April 2017. There are a total of 32 accused in the case, including former Rajasthan governor Kalyan Singh, BJP MP Vinay Katiar and Sadhvi Rithambara.
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Addressing the developments since the demolition of the mosque, Bharti wrote to Nadda: “I am proud of my participation in the Ayodhya movement. I have always said that even if I have to hang for being part of the Ayodhya movement, then that’s acceptable to me. I do not know what the decision will be, but I will not seek bail. Seeking bail will tarnish the dignity of my participation in the movement. In such circumstances, whether you would want to keep me in the new team or not, that’s for you to consider.”
A three-term MP and former chief minister of Madhya Pradesh, Bharti did not contest the 2019 Lok Sabha elections. After the second Narendra Modi government was sworn in, Bharti rose to the post of vice-president of the BJP in June 2019. She held the post until September 26, this year, when she was dropped.
Bharti wrote to Nadda how in the past, “even after the party expelled me, I did not stop working for the poor and backward classes. I continue to do my bit for the nation. I am ready to lay my life for Ram, Ganga, the Tricolour and the deprived classes.”
The senior BJP leader commented that the task of establishing “Ram Rajya” remained unfulfilled. “The Ram Mandir is being built, but Ram Rajya is still pending. I have a very long life left, which I will now dedicate to Ram Rajya,” she said.
Further, she said: “You have known me for 30 years. Ideology and hard work are the basis of my politics. I also fought for the Ram temple and also for Ram Rajya. I left no stone unturned in making Hindutva all inclusive and ensured that Dalits, tribals, poor and especially backward classes of all sections should join BJP and stay connected too.”
On her role in the party, she said: “So I leave it to your discretion whether you keep me in the team or not. For me, the blessing of God and the support of the community is most important. You can take a decision regarding me without any worry. I am the BJP’s reserve force. It will always come handy when needed.”
Also read: Ayodhya: Once There Was A Mosque
However, her private secretary Vishnugupta Vaidya went on record to state that the party reshuffle and the letter were not connected and that the letter was written before the organisational restructuring.
Bharti, in the letter, also mentioned that she had to appear before the special CBI court of Lucknow on September 30 to hear the verdict. “I consider the law as the Vedas, the court as the temple and the judge as the God. Therefore, every decision of the court will be God’s blessing for me.”
She also drew a parallel between the Babri Masjid demolition case with the laying of the foundation stone of the Ram Temple recently. “It is a matter of pride, bliss and surprising anomaly that in the same Ayodhya case in which in 2017 the CBI doubted me as a conspirator, our Prime Minister laid the foundation stone of the same Ayodhya (temple) this year. I will accept the verdict of the court,” she wrote.