Thursday, March 28, 2024
ADVT 
India

After Sushma Swaraj, Uma Bharti Opts Out Of 2019 Poll Race

IANS, 04 Dec, 2018 11:24 AM
    Union minister Uma Bharti on Tuesday said she won't contest the next Lok Sabha elections.
     
     
    The senior BJP leader's announcement came days after her cabinet colleague Sushma Swaraj said she won't contest the next LS polls.
     
     
    Bharti said she will instead concentrate on the issues of Ram temple in Ayodhya and cleanliness of the River Ganga for the next one-and-a half years.
     
     
    Bharti said she would "embark on a pilgrimage to devote time for Ganga river and Lord Ram by leaving power".
     
     
    The Drinking Water and Sanitation Minister, however, clarified that she was not quitting politics.
     
     
    External Affairs Minister Swaraj, who represents Vidisha Lok Sabha seat in Madhya Pradesh, had last month announced that she would not contest the 2019 polls due to health reasons.
     
     
    When asked about Swaraj's announcement, the Jhansi MP said, "I am so sorry. I have said so (won't contest elections) one or two years ago. Sushmaji has said it now. Don't link both these things which are same, but the time and reasons are different".
     
     
    Bharti announced that she would set out on a 2,500-km yatra (pilgrimage) along the Ganga river on foot from Makar Sankranti in January next year for nearly one-and-a-half years by "leaving power".
     
     
    "I believe that one has to go to the banks of the Ganga river by leaving power and I am doing so for next one-and-a-half years. But I will be campaigning and would do politics till my last and that too with energy," Bharti told reporters at her official residence.
     
     
    "I will not do anything for the next one-and-a-half years except (working) for the Ganga and Lord Ram," she said.
     
     
    Bharti's statement came amid demands by the Sangh parivar to expedite construction of a Ram temple at the disputed site in Ayodhya.
     
     
    The saffron leader, who was a prominent face in the Ram Janmabhoomi movement of 1990s, said she is not retiring from politics.
     
     
    "I am not taking 'sanyas' (from politics). 'Sanyas' is a different thing. I will do politics till my end. Nobody can force me to leave politics. I will do it while being in the BJP only. But for one-and-a-half years, I need Ganga (river)," the Union minister said. 

    MORE India ARTICLES

    2 Himachali Youths Stranded In Saudi Arabia Released, Tweets CM Jairam Thakur

    All residents of Himachal stranded in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, are safe. They have been lodged in the Riyadh Deportation Centre and efforts are on to get them released at the earliest.

    2 Himachali Youths Stranded In Saudi Arabia Released, Tweets CM Jairam Thakur

    It Is Official, Sikh Women In Chandigarh Need Not Wear Helmet Now

    It Is Official, Sikh Women In Chandigarh Need Not Wear Helmet Now
    Sikh women in Chandigarh will not be required to wear a helmet while driving or riding pillion on a two-wheeler as the Chandigarh Administration today issued a notification making the helmet optional for them.

    It Is Official, Sikh Women In Chandigarh Need Not Wear Helmet Now

    Pakistan Opens Immigration Centre At Kartarpur Border

    Pakistan Opens Immigration Centre At Kartarpur Border
    Pakistan has established an immigration centre at the Kartarpur border following the groundbreaking of the landmark corridor for Sikh pilgrims.

    Pakistan Opens Immigration Centre At Kartarpur Border

    Punjab and Haryana High Court Verdict On Bibi Jagir Kaur's Appeal On Tuesday

    The premier investigating agency has claimed the trial judge failed to appreciate that Harpreet's death was homicidal; and "committed a grave error in law in not giving a finding that the death was under mysterious circumstances".

    Punjab and Haryana High Court Verdict On Bibi Jagir Kaur's Appeal On Tuesday

    You Do Not Wash Your Dirty Linen In Public. I Will Sort Out The Issue With The Chief Minister: Sidhu

    You Do Not Wash Your Dirty Linen In Public. I Will Sort Out The Issue With The Chief Minister: Sidhu
    Punjab Local Bodies Minister Navjot Singh Sidhu will meet Chief Minister Capt Amarinder Singh to sort out their differences over his recent statement.

    You Do Not Wash Your Dirty Linen In Public. I Will Sort Out The Issue With The Chief Minister: Sidhu

    No One Is Running Away: Owaisi Brothers Hit Out At Yogi Adityanath

    No One Is Running Away: Owaisi Brothers Hit Out At Yogi Adityanath
    Akbaruddin Owaisi and Asaduddin both attacked Yogi Adityanath over the remarks he made in Telangana.

    No One Is Running Away: Owaisi Brothers Hit Out At Yogi Adityanath

    PrevNext