Softening her stance in a change of tack after the no-hold-bar attack on party leadership on the issue of Madhya Pradesh chief ministership, suspended Bharatiya Janata Party leader Uma Bharti, facing expulsion from the party, termed Atal Bihari Vajpayee and Lal Kishenchand Advani as "father figures" and offered talks on issue of internal democracy raised by her.
She made the point that her attack was not person-centric and said there was still scope for "rising above personal animosity" for talks within the party on the issues raised by her relating to internal democracy and ideology of BJP.
"The need is to rise above personal animosity and irreponsible comments and understand and resolve the issues," Bharti told reporters, reacting to her suspension by BJP, which has slapped a show-cause notice on her for her conduct and statements during process of leadership change in Madhya Pradesh.
Describing Vajpayee and party president Advani as father-like figures for her, the fiery sanyasin asked the leaders "not to consider the issues as organisational-legal matters, but to make up their minds to put in deeper thought into it".
"There was scope for a dialogue on both these issues," Bharti said in a carefully-worded written statement to mediapersons during her Ayodhya march.
Seeking the blessings of Vajpayee and Advani, Bharti claimed to be following the path shown by Deen Dayal Upadhyay and thanked the party for giving her three days to reply to the notice, saying, "I will live and die for BJP."
Bharti said she never worked for any post and only wanted the party to work properly on basis of its ideology.
"People of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh had made sincere requests about ideology, behaviour, right system of work and transfer of power among generations. I stongly support it," she added.
She said she required some time off from her march to Ayodhya to prepare a reply to the show cause notice and would disclose her next move after she gave the "clarification" sought by the party.
Ruling out any move to form a new political outfit after her 'Ram-roti padyatra', Bharti claimed it was a non-political march, which had been earlier scheduled to start from Karim Nagar in Andhra Pradesh with BJP general secretary Arun Jaitley as its convenor.
A meeting had also been held to finalise the programme but Advani, due to his "fatherly concern" for her ill health, had postponed it, she claimed.
On whether she believed she can bring about the changes in the party sought by RSS, Bharti said, "I don't know. I am a small-time party worker. Right now, I am reduced to a person who can't carry her party flag."
Claiming right to use it, she said she had never "violated party's flag, its symbol and the saffron colour".
Asked whether her "road to Delhi" passed through Ayodhya, Bharti said, "All roads in my life pass through Ayodhya."
She also alleged show-cause notices for indiscipline were issued to some of her supporters who were not present in the city during the legislature party meeting.
Claiming the support of the "common man," the fiery sanyasin said a a blind man had given her some "plums" to eat and Rs 5 for her yatra while claiming that he merely wished to accompany her in the march.
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