Uma Bharti suspended from BJP

The party also issued a show cause notice to the 45-year-old leader asking her why she should not be expelled.

The dramatic developments, climaxing a month-long cold war between Bharti and former BJP President M Venkaiah Naidu and Pramod Mahajan, took place in full glare of television cameras, something unknown to BJP.

Bharti, who resigned as Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister in August following revival of a criminal case against her in Karnataka, was suspended from the party shortly after "on account of her conduct" on the demand of office bearers, senior party leader Jaswant Singh said.

The backward face of BJP, who is also a leading participant in the Ram temple movement, has often spoken out on issues in the party and was only last week made general secretary after a show of reluctance.

As the first meeting of newly appointed office bearers was on in which Advani referred to quarrelling among party leaders through the media and pointedly referred to Bharti saying "there is a limit to how much departure from discipline can be tolerated.

"This provoked Bharti who got up and attacked "four-five" leaders in the meeting who she charged with spreading stories against her in off the record briefings. She demanded a discussion on the issue.

As a shocked triumvirate of BJP President LK Advani, former Prime Minister LK Advani and Jaswant Singh, sitting on the dais, she left the hall in the party headquarters when Advani dismissed her demand for discussion.

Bharti, who has been at the centre of intra-party wranglings ever since she stepped down as Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister and was in a row with former Party president M Venkaiah Naidu, Pramod Mahajan and Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi, was red with anger as she left the hall.

"There are four-five people in this hall who do the off the record briefings (against her) which appear as headlines and people like here were not similarly capable. So we are forced to save our honour by being compelled to speak on record and that is being branded as indiscipline," she said as she walked out.