BHOPAL, 30 December 2004 — Former chief minister of Madhya Pradesh and a firebrand Bharatiya Janata Party leader Uma Bharati was allegedly caught traveling on a train without ticket.
Bharati did not have the necessary ‘authority letter’ required by a former MP while traveling. After initial resistance, Bharati finally paid the penalty. However, a press release by her office in Bhopal described as ‘baseless and false’ the news carried in a section of media that she was caught traveling without ticket.
The BJP has accused Federal Railway Minister Lalu Prasad Yadav of hatching a conspiracy to humiliate Bharati, who was forced to pay penalty by traveling ticket examiners (TTEs) despite the fact that Bharati and her staff had valid tickets and confirmed berths in Vaishali Express.
BJP leaders claimed that the TTEs were in constant touch with one Sadhu Yadav on cell phone and it was on his behest that they misbehaved with Bharati.
