Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) president Nitin Gadkari on Friday announced distribution of work to the party's office-bearers, with party MP and National Secretary Varun Gandhi being made election in-charge of Assam.

Varun Gandhi's appointment as election in-charge of Assam, which goes to polls next year and where the party's stakes are high, indicates an elevation in terms of importance within the party.

The work distribution was done almost four months after BJP President Nitin Gadkari announced his new team, in which Varun Gandhi was given the role of National Secretary.

The list includes names of 'prabharis' (incharge) of 35 states and union territories, six 'morchas' (fronts) and nine party cells.

Congress should be held responsible for "what happened after" the Bhopal gas tragedy, BJP MP Varun Gandhi said today and demanded a fair probe into the issue.

The BJP youth leader told reporters here that new facts are being brought to the fore by the media everyday about what happened after the Bhopal disaster and his reaction to the whole affair at this juncture would be "pre-mature".

He however, said, "The Congress is of course responsible for what happened after the tragedy".

He also demanded a fair probe to bring to justice "the culprits of Bhopal tragedy".

Earlier, he visited the Gorakhnath temple here and met local BJP MP Yogi Adityanath.

Bharatiya Janata Party national vice-president Kalraj Mishra today batted for Gandhi family scion Varun Gandhi, saying Varun is the youth mascot of the BJP and will be bestowed with more organisational responsibilities.

"Varun will be given more responsibilities in the UP elections and his attachment with the youths could restore the fortunes of the party,'' he told UNI.

The senior BJP Rajya Sabha member also said that party has started preparing itself for the coming 2012 assembly elections in Uttar Pradesh.

''Varun had stood by his ideologies and even after facing several hardships (following lodging of criminal cases and even NSA), he never compromised on the issues,'' he said.

Mishra, who have been nominated in party's highest forum- Parliamentary Board-,said that popularity of Varun Gandhi is growing day by day and he is being appreciated for his speeches.

The BJP leader criticised the move of the Jammu and Kashmir government to impose tax on the pligrims going to Amarnath.

''Such step to impose tax on religious visit is unconstitutional and it should be withdrawn immediately,'' he demanded.

BJP firebrand leader Varun Gandhi today appealed to the youths here to join politics and called for strengthening Hindu organisations.

There is a need for good people to lead the country, the Pilibhit MP said while addressing a gathering at Kasganj, 30 kms from here.

"We will have to strengthen Hindu organisations as it is the need of the hour," he said.

Emphasising on the need to weed out corruption, Gandhi said the country was facing problems and corruption has eaten into the system from top to bottom.

He said "I am with BJP workers whenever needed. I will always stand with them at the time of peril," he said.

Gandhi was accorded a warm welcome by the people here.

Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) secretary Varun Gandhi on Saturday addressed a public meeting in Uttar Pradesh's Hathras district through a mobile phone after the state government did not allow him to attend the rally, a party leader said.

"The permission for the rally was taken well in advance. Hours before the public meeting was to start, the district authorities informed us that Varunji will not be allowed to participate in the meeting due to security reasons," BJP legislator Yashpal Chauhan told reporters in Hathras, some 350 km from Lucknow.

"When we conveyed the information to Varunji, he decided to address the rally on the mobile phone from Delhi. He called up on a mobile, which was kept in front of the mike," he added.

According to BJP officials, the permission for the rally at the KPA Inter-College in Sikandararao town in Hathras was taken May 15.

"We know very well that the move to not allow Varunji to participate in the rally was taken at the behest of the state government. Actually, Chief Minister Mayawati fears that our young leader would unmask her real face before the masses...It was a politically motivated move on the directions of the chief minister," Chauhan told IANS.