Joshi defends Rajput

Making a rare appearance at the BJP headquarters on Friday, former HRD minister Murli Manohar Joshi launched a scathing attack against his successor Arjun Singh for 8220;acting as a tool of Communist vendetta8217;8217; against former NCERT director J.S. Rajput and for imposing 8220;a fraud8217;8217; on the education system by reintroducing 8220;old and discredited8217;8217; books in the history syllabi.

Joshi8217;s lengthy defence of Rajput and attack on the reintroduction of textbooks that had been withdrawn by the NDA regime is the start of a concerted BJP offensive against the year-long 8220;desaffronisation8217;8217; process being undertaken by the UPA government, sources said.

In a separate statement Delhi BJP chief Harshvardhan said the re-introduced textbooks by historians such as Romila Thapar were 8220;shameful and hurtful8217;8217; to Hindu sentiments. Joshi did not directly refer to the 8220;anti-Hindu8217;8217; content but attacked them on the ground that they were 8220;outdated books prepared on the basis of the syllabi of 1975.8217;8217;

Joshi, backed by NDA convenor George Fernandes, also stoutly defended J.S. Rajput who was charged with nepotism, arrogance, etc were recently confirmed by the Sathyam Committee.