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Uma Bharti begins dharna outside Week office

Uma Bharti, the firebrand woman leader of the Bhartiya Janata Party, began a dharna in front of the offices of The Week magazine in Indian Newspapers Office building on Rafi Marg in New Delhi on Tuesday morning.

She is protesting the publication of an interview by the magazine, which according to her had never taken place.

Bharti told rediff.com Tuesday morning that she had taken up the matter with the top brass of the magazine and is awaiting their response before deciding whether to take the issue to court or not.

The magazine in its latest issue had carried an interview of Bharti where she is alleged to have confessed her soft corner for BJP leader Govindacharaya. "How can I say such a thing?" she asked.

"I did not know that the interview had been printed. It was only after some journalists visited my residence in Delhi Monday night to seek my reaction that I knew. I was shocked because the interview never took place," she claimed.

According to her, a journalist by the name of Ajay Upreti had visited her in Kedarnath and asked for an interview. When she refused, he asked her if he could spend sometime there. "I told him it was okay with me. During the evening, I used to break my maun varta. We had informal chats on various topics. My followers also used to join us in these discussions and we had a good time. But never ever during the three days did I grant any interview. I don't know if he recorded informal conversations. But such informal discussions cannot be presented as an inteview without my permission. He seems to have picked up gossip and printed it in the form of an interview."

"I have taken up the matter with the management and I am awaiting their response. I believe in justice," she said.

The security branch of the Delhi police was taken by surprise when they learnt that Bharti had begun a dharna at 7.30 on Tuesday morning. Obviously she did not tell the Delhi police about her intentions. She and nearly a dozen supporters are squatting on the second floor of the INS building.

Later Bharti told a press conference that she has given the magazine till Wednesday morning to tender an unconditional apology. "I could have gone to the court or to the Press Council of India but I have come before the media because it is one of you who has done injustice to me. I want you to rise in my defence and ensure that so such dirty joke is printed in my name in future. Despite what has happened I have full faith in the media," said Uma Bharti, as she wiped her tears.

BJP vice-president Madan Lal Khurana, who sat beside her at the press conference, sought to console her when she began weeping.

She produced a letter from another journalist Vijendra Rawat of Daink Hindustan who had sought to explain to her that the story that was printed in the leading Hindi daily was unfair to her. The journalist also claimed in his letter of apology that the lines had been added to his story and the text distorted. Daink Hindustan had also carried similar story as the one carried by The Week .

"The boy Uperti was so sweet that till now I cannot imagine that he could have written this kind of interview. I had called both PTI and UNI to stop this story from circulation but when I saw this morning's papers I was amazed. I wish they had respected my wish and refrained from printing the story," she said.

Later Uma Bharti called off her dharna saying she had managed to lodge her protest in the presence of the media.

Meanwhile, senior editorial sources in the magazine said they stand by the story.

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