The BJP on Sunday rejected the Congress' criticism of the government over a former Supreme Court judge's appointment as governor, saying such appointments have past precedents and they are also not barred by the Constitution.

BJP chief spokesperson Anil Baluni said the Congress has a habit of politicising every issue, and it was unfortunate that the opposition party is doing so with the appointment of governors also.

"Former judges have been appointed to different positions countless times in the past. Our Constitution also says nothing against post-retirement appointment of judges," the Rajya Sabha member said, noting that previous Congress governments effected such appointments on numerous occasions.

The Congress earlier attacked the government over retired Supreme Court judge S Abdul Nazeer's appointment as a governor by citing the late BJP leader Arun Jaitley's remarks against such appointments, and called the move a "great threat" to the independence of the judiciary.

Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by The Telegraph Online staff and has been published from a syndicated feed.