BJP leader Uma Bharti survived the reshuffle in spite of speculations about her ouster. She has been divested of the prime Ganga Rejuvenation and Water Resources portfolio, and will now be Minister of Sanitation and Drinking Water.
Ms. Bharti gave the swearing-in ceremony a miss to be in her constituency, Jhansi, in Madhya Pradesh. Many read it as a strong message to top BJP leadership of the mass support she enjoys. Ms. Bharti has been avoiding the media since the rumours regarding the possibility of her sacking started doing the rounds. Today, too she took to Twitter to clarify her absence at the swearing-in ceremony.
“I am not in Varanasi. I am in my Parliamentary Constituency, Lalitpur, Jhansi. I am attending a pre-scheduled Sankalp-Se-Siddhi function,” she tweeted. The Sankalp-se-Siddhi- the New India Movement is a programme helmed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi himself as part of the 75th anniversary of Quit India moment.
Bharti had earlier shrugged off the rumours about her being dropped from the cabinet with similar verve. When reporters asked her she said, “I can neither hear, nor will I hear and certainly I won’t reply.” Again using the Twitter route, she said that the only person authorised to speak on the issue is BJP President Amit Shah.
A leader who came up with the Ram Mandir Movement in 1980s had quit the party in 2004 after a public fall out with BJP leader L.K. Advani. She returned to the BJP fold in 2011 after a seven year gap. Under the present dispensation, she has often has found herself alone.
In April this year, when Supreme Court restored the “conspiracy” charge against her and other senior BJP leaders including L K Advani and Murli Manohar Joshi every one had expected her to resign. Instead, keeping up the tradition of being a maverick, within minutes of the judgement she called an impromptu press conference at her residence and to say that is “unapologetic and unrepentant” about the her participation in Ram Janam Bhoomi movement. She said that there no conspiracy, everything was khulam-khulla or out in open. “A conspiracy would imply that something was done in secret.. whatever happened was in full public view,” she said.
In a quite contrast to Bharti’s candid stand the BJP spoke in one-liners on the issue. Law Minister Ravishankar Prasad said that the court verdict will be read before the party reacts on the issue. While Finance Minister Arun Jaitely said that mere chargesheet can’t be the reason to sack someone. “If charge sheet is the rule (to resign), then just calculate, how many Congress chief ministers will (have to go)," he said.
As Minister of Ganga Rejuvenation and Water Resources ministry, she was helming Rs 20,000 crore project to clean up the river. Now as in-charge of Ministry of Sanitation and Drinking Water she will be handling Swachch Bharat Mission in Rural Areas.
