IANS

New Delhi, Aug 26: The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) faced fresh problems Wednesday after B C Khanduri challenged its decision to force him to quit as Uttarakhand chief minister over the Lok Sabha poll rout.

In a letter to the party, Khandur alleged that he was made a scapegoat and sacked in haste. He also expressed his anguish over not being invited to the BJP's three-day meeting in Shimla last week.

Khanduri's defiance comes amid a string of crisis in the BJP that has seen the sacking of former cabinet minister Jaswant Singh, a revolt in its Rajasthan unit and strong criticism of the party leadership by Rajya Sabha MP Arun Shourie.

According to BJP sources, the Uttarakhand leader said he could have explained at Shimla the reasons the party was routed in the April-May Lok Sabha election when the BJP lost all five seats.

BJP spokesperson Ravi Shankar Prasad refused to comment on the letter, saying: "There is no need to comment on everything."

Khanduri, formerly from the Indian Army, was replaced by Ramesh Pokhriyal as chief minister.