New Delhi: Congress today (Nov 3, 2004) welcomed Allahabad High Court notices to BJP (Bharatiya Janata Party) leader L K Advani, Shiv Sena chief Bal Thackeray and 18 others in the Babri Masjid demolition case saying that the matter was pending for long.

"We welcome that the Court, under the law, has started the process of prosecution in Ayodhya case against Advani, Thackeray, M M Joshi, Uma Bharti, Kalyan Singh, Vinay Katiyar and others. This matter has been pending for a long time," party spokesman Abhishek Singhvi told reporters.

The Lucknow Bench of the Allahabad High Court yesterday issued notices to Advani, Thackeray and 18 others on a CBI petition challenging the 2001 order of the Special CBI court dropping proceedings against them in the Babri Masjid demolition case on technical ground relating to the chargesheet.

Asked to comment on the BJP leader Kalyan Singh's allegation that CBI was being "misused" at the behest of Congress president Sonia Gandhi, Singhvi said, "What else could be expected from the former UP Chief Minister and his friends who even failed to appear before court."

To another question that Congress was sharing power with Kalyan Singh in Uttar Pradesh, he said Kalyan's party and Congress were supporting Samajwadi Party Government, "but we never said that cases against him should be withdrawn."