Dumped by BJP, NRI Anshuman Mishra targets MM Joshi

NEW DELHI: BJP\'s embarrassment over its mysterious decision to support NRI Anshuman Mishra for a Rajya Sabha seat from Jharkhand worsened on Friday, when he accused senior party leader and Public Accounts Committee (PAC) chairman Murli Manohar Joshi of seeking to meet the functionaries of companies involved in the 2G scam.



Mishra, who was dropped as swiftly as he was backed by the party, said that Joshi, chairman of Parliament\'s PAC, as well as a \"woman friend\" of his had asked him to arrange meetings with companies who allegedly benefited from the 2G scam. He said that Joshi had sought those meetings with officials of companies when the PAC was investigating the spectrum scam.



The NRI, who was talking to a TV channel, also claimed that Joshi repeatedly approached him for funds while contesting the 2004 and 2009 Lok Sabha elections, claiming that his phone records would bear him out.



Joshi denied the charge, dubbing Mishra a loser: a reference to the NRI\'s failure to seal BJP\'s support after he had got the leadership to direct party\'s MLAs to support him in the Rajya Sabha elections. Joshi also said that he would welcome a probe into the charges, promising to extend all cooperation.



Congress which has been at the receiving end of Joshi\'s indictments of the government in the PAC, seemed to enjoy the discomfiture of the veteran BJP leader. AICC spokesperson Manish Tiwari said: \" I respect Joshi. But given the nature of allegations by a BJP endorsed RS nominee, who was forced to withdraw because of internal party differences, I leave it to Joshi\'s conscience what should be his course of action\".



The professed respect notwithstanding, the comment could also be interpreted as a hint for Joshi to quit his post. It certainly meant that Congress will be watching Mishra\'s next steps more carefully than it would ordinarily have.



Mishra had earlier attacked L K Advani, Yashwant Sinha and Shanta Kumar for putting a spanner in his Rajya Sabha works.



On Friday, he focused his fire on Joshi to the exclusion of other senior BJP leaders, though the hurt over having been axed came out clearly in the form of claim that he had been raising funds for the party since late 1990s.



He stressed that his quarrel was not with the BJP as a whole; but only with Joshi who after having taken his help to raise funds, has gone back on his promise to launch him into the \"political stream\".



This must be one of the rare instance, where Advani and Joshi, perennially at loggerheads in the organizational equation, have been embarrassed by the same source.



Mishra told the TV channel that he had unfettered access to the BJP\'s top brass and rank and file including chief ministers like Gujarat CM Narendra Modi. Mishra said he was ready to face any probe into his allegations.


News From: http://www.7StarNews.com