"The nation is absolutely mystified that BJP has found no better person and fallen back on a murder accused on bail and externed for two years from a part of India. Do they have limited talent," Congress spokesman Abhishek Singhvi told reporters here.
Singhvi said that although Congress is "not normally interested, nor comments" on internal appointments of other parties, he was reacting on this issue as it was "unprecedented" for a party in power to make an appointment of such a person.
The Congress reaction came hours after Shah -- who ensured a handsome showing for BJP in the crucial state of Uttar Pradesh in the Lok Sabha elections -- was appointed the BJP president, marking Gujarat's firm grip over the ruling dispensation after Narendra Modi's elevation as Prime Minister.
Shah, a close aide of Modi, was appointed to the BJP top post at a meeting of the party's Parliamentary Board where incumbent Rajnath Singh resigned following a tenure of one-and -a-half years.