BJP comes to Joshi's rescue, terms him 'sage' politician

BJP today came to the defence of senior party leader Murli Manohar Joshi whom NRI businessman Anshuman Mishra has accused of seeking to meet the officials of companies involved in the 2G scam, saying the charges levelled against him are "false" and "baseless".

BJP on Saturday came to the defence of senior party leader Murli Manohar Joshi whom NRI businessman Anshuman Mishra has accused of seeking to meet the officials of companies involved in the 2G scam, saying the charges levelled against him are "false" and "baseless".

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"It is our fervent request to media not to give any credence to such wild allegations which do not have an iota of truth. Dr Joshi is a rishi (sage) politician, a symbol of crusade against corruption," BJP spokesperson Tarun Vijay told reporters in New Delhi.

"Those who were in the forefront of demanding action in corruption cases are now being targeted because of ulterior motives," he claimed.

Vijay said the BJP was the first party in the country to raise the 2G issue and demand an inquiry into the 2G scam and all other scandals.

"In this murky political atmosphere while charges and baseless allegations are flying thick and fast, we are sorry to see that a section of media is giving credence to such falsehood as we are seeing in some interviews of Anshuman Mishra to the media," he said.

The NRI businessman has claimed that he was the BJP's fund-raiser for over a decade and said that Joshi called him seeking funds for elections. Mishra also claimed to have played a role in Joshi's poll campaign in 2004 and 2009.

Joshi has brushed aside the allegations as "fabricated" and termed whatever Mishra was saying as absolutely wrong and a "concoction".