A day after party chief Rajnath Singh defended his appointment as Uttar Pradesh in-charge, Bharatiya Janata Party leader Murli Manohar Joshi on Wednesday said Amit Shah is an "experienced" leader and asserted that no charges have so far been proved against him.
Shah, a close confidant of Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi, is embroiled in a controversy related to the 2002 Gujarat riots and the Sohrabuddin Sheikh encounter case.
Joshi, however, said the party will take "suitable action" if the charges against Shah are proved.
"Amit Shah is an experienced leader. The party attaches great significance to UP and therefore he has been made in-charge of this politically crucial state," Joshi said.
Asked about Shah's alleged involvement in 2002 Gujarat riots, Joshi said so far no charges have been proved against him and "suitable action" will be taken if it happens.
Joshi hit out at the Centre over its handling of the issue of Chinese incursion, alleging that the Congress-led United Progressive Alliance had failed to strongly put forward India's point during the recently-concluded visit of Chinese Premier Li Keqiang.
"Our government failed to put China on the defensive when Li Keqiang arrived in India after becoming the prime minister. China made its intentions clear when its Premier followed his India visit by a trip to Islamabad, where he said Beijing shared an all-weather friendship with Pakistan," Joshi said, claiming that Beijing is "trying to establish its hegemony" over the entire region.
"But instead of acknowledging the reality and acting accordingly, our government agreed to discuss border disputes with China, unmindful of the fact that national boundaries are meant to be defended and not discussed," he said.
He blamed the UPA government's "obstinacy" for repeated disruptions of Parliamentary proceedings in the latest session.
"We had been seeking resignations of Ashwini Kumar and P K Bansal, which ultimately did take place. But in Parliament, the government unnecessarily tried to put up a stubborn face which resulted in stalling proceedings," he said.
Joshi also alleged that the rule of UPA, which completed nine years today, had been marked by "rise in prices, corruption and unemployment and heightened threat to national security".
Joshi, who heads Parliament's Public Accounts Committee, declined to comment on the appointment of Shashi Kant Sharma as the new Comptroller and Auditor General of India, expressing hope that the institution continues to function with the impartiality for which it is known.
