New Delhi: Congress on July 21 accused Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee of "misusing" Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) to drop the charge of "criminal conspiracy" against Deputy Prime Minister L K Advani, Human Resource Development Minister M M Joshi and some others in the Babri Masjid demolition case and sought an "adequate and convincing" reply from him on the issue.

"All was done by the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-led coalition government. The Prime Minister must be held responsible for all these. We, therefore, want the government to come forward with an adequate gesture. Vajpayee should offer a convincing reply in Parliament and to the nation," Party spokesman S Jaipal Reddy told reporters.

Demanding dismissal of Advani and Joshi, he said Congress has been arguing for the last five years that continuance of Advani, Joshi and others in the government, in the face of chargesheet filed by CBI, would not be only "detrimental to the norms of public charge, but would eventually be detrimental to justice itself".

"Our fears have been abundantly proved as the CBI dropped charges against Advani, Joshi and their ilk," he said, adding that any amount of explanation would not wash in the face of evidence collected "sedulously".

Refuting BJP and government's explanation that Section 120 (B)(conspiracy) was not mentioned in the CBI chargesheet, Reddy said the agency had filed two chargesheets – one in 1993 and the other in 1997 and the latter one did mention it.

"The chargesheet filed by CBI remains, the fact contained in it remains, which showed how Advani and others were involved in the demolition. How they made inflammatory speeches. How they conspired from the residence of party leader Vinay Katiyar in Ayodhya," He said.

PTI