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MP condemns

BJP leadership

NEW DELHI: A prominent leader of India's main opposition party blasted the party leadership ahead of general elections, accusing it of opportunism, a newspaper reported Thursday.

Uma Bharati, a firebrand MP of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP, told state-run television late Wednesday the party's leaders had compromised with "principles" and were influenced by "sycophants and rootless people."

The Times of India quoted her saying that the BJP had displayed "double standards" while picking candidates for the polls, denying nomination to one MP with alleged criminal links while promoting another with a similar reputation.

She said she was upset that the Hindu-revivalist BJP had nominated a former leader of the ruling Congress (I) party "within hours of crossing over from the Congress."

Bharati, one of the most vocal MPs in parliament, is counted among the party's second-ranking leaders.

She actively backed a BJP drive that led to the destruction of a 16th-century mosque in Ayodhya town in 1992.

The party leadership is "surrounded by a caucus of sycophants and rootless leaders who live in luxury and are now calling the shots," The Times quoted her as saying.

Bharati's remarks were expected to damage the BJP's prospects in the staggered April-May parliamentary ballot beginning Saturday. The BJP is tipped to be the front-runner in the most likely event of a hung parliament.

BJP spokesman K.R. Malkani dismissed Bharati's charges as "baseless," adding: "She seems to be under stress, and emotionally drained out." He did not say if the BJP would discipline her.

Bharati is running for parliament from her home state of Madhya Pradesh in central India.-APP