New Delhi: Congress on May 14 came down heavily on the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-led coalition for adopting a "partisan communal position" on the disputed site in Ayodhya, alleging that the move was aimed at "misleading" the Lieberhan Commission and provide a "convenient cover up" to senior leaders including L K Advani, accused in the Babri Masjid demolition case.

"The assertion on the existence of a temple at the disputed site being an undisputed fact, is a deliberate and mischievous misrepresentation. The objective clearly being to mislead the Commission and interfere with the established course of enquiry," party spokesman Anand Sharma said.

While the significant shift in the Central position with a view to providing a convenient cover up for the accused persons deserves to be condemned, he said this calculated exercise was also an attempt to supplement the defence of senior BJP leaders, especially Deputy Prime Minister Advani.

The Centre's assertion, Sharma said, also sought to pre-determine the issues pending before the Lucknow Bench of the Allahabad High Court.

"Ironically, it has come at a time when both the High Court and the Archaeological Survey of India, are seized of the matter", he said adding that it needed to be pointed out that Supreme Court had declined to answer this question when a presidential reference was made in 1993.

It is also at variance with the official position as stated in the "white paper" brought out by the then Union government, he added.

PTI