Friday, June 3 2005 17:53 Hrs (IST) - World Time -

New Delhi: Fourteen years after the demolition of the disputed structure in Ayodhya, the Liberhan Commission probing the incident today (Jun 3, 2005) closed the recording of evidence barring an application seeking to summon former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee.

The Commission, whose extended term is expiring on June 31, closed the proceedings with conclusion of the deposition of its key witness Kalyan Singh during whose tenure as Chief Minister the medieval monument was razed on December 6, 1992.

Concluding his deposition, Singh parried a question whether there was a conspiracy by the BJP (Bharatiya Janata Party) and VHP (Vishwa Hindu Parishad) with the backing of P V Narasimha Rao-led Congress Government at the Centre to demolish the disputed Ram Janam Bhoomi Babri Masjid structure at Ayodhya.

"It is our tradition not to speak against the dead and I will not like to say anything adverse against Rao," he told the Commission during his cross-examination by the Uttar Pradesh Government.