Liberhan probe into Babri demolition to be ready soon Wednesday, December 06, 2006 05:10 [IST]
New Delhi:
It has been 14 years but nemesis might still come calling on several leaders
from the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and hardline Hindu organisations like the
Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) when Justice M.S. Liberhan, probing the demolition
of the Babri mosque, completes his report.
The one-man panel, one of the country's longest running
inquiry commissions which has cost the government Rs.63.60 million till date,
is currently writing up his report on the sequence of events leading to the
razing of the Babri mosque by Hindu mobs on Dec 6, 1992.
Sources told sources that besides identifying those who
played a role in the destruction of the 16th century mosque, the commission
would also unravel why and how the demolition happened and name the larger
forces and actors responsible for it.
"At this point all I can tell you is that I am writing
the report and it will be given soon," Justice Liberhan told sources from Chandigarh.
For the hardline Hindutva forces, and the BJP in particular,
the report, when it is out, could be a looming black cloud on the horizon
especially if it is made available before the crucial Uttar Pradesh assembly
elections expected early next year.
Liberhan parried questions on whether any BJP leaders' roles
were being scrutinised.
"I will not say anything on the matter. Wait for the
report," he said.
Appointed by former prime minister P.V. Narasimha Rao two
weeks after the demolition on Dec 16, 1992, to ward off criticism against his
government for having failed to protect the mosque, the commission in August
last year finished hearing its last witness Kalyan Singh who was Uttar Pradesh chief minister at the
time of the demolition and was dismissed soon after.
In April this year, after months of delay, the United
Progressive Alliance (UPA) government filed its final written submission before
the commission accusing the BJP, its mentor the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh
(RSS), Bajrang Dal and Shiv Sena of having 'collaborated and connived' to
demolish the structure at Ayodhya in a well-planned manner.
"From the records it is apparently clear that the
demolition was clearly an act of conspiracy between the state government held
by the then chief minister Kalyan Singh, his cabinet colleagues, various
prominent leaders of BJP and Sangh Parivar including RSS, VHP, Bajrang Dal,
Shiv Sena." the UPA Government said.
The 246-page submission, supported by 149 pages of annexure,
states that even minimum force was not used to block the free flow of kar
sevaks (volunteers) towards the disputed structure.
The UPA's petition is expectedly in sharp contrast to the
National Democratic Alliance's (NDA) stand. Counsel Lala Ram Gupta depositions
before the commission almost amounted to the assertion that the destruction of
the mosque was an act of god.
He also told the commission that the disputed site in
Ayodhya was the birthplace of Lord Ram and maintained the only issue was
whether a temple existed there before the construction of the mosque in the
Uttar Pradesh town.
In 14 years of its proceedings, the commission recorded
statements of several politicians, bureaucrats and police officials including
Kalyan Singh, late Narasimha Rao, former deputy prime minister L.K. Advani and
his colleagues Murli Manohar Joshi and Uma Bharati as well as Mulayam Singh
Yadav.
The commission had a tough time during the deposition of
Bajrang Dal leader Vinay Katiyar, who used some foul language and went to the
extent of saying that the report of the commission would be 'useless' and would
gather dust on official shelves.
Top bureaucrats and police officials of Uttar Pradesh, the
then district magistrate R.N. Srivastava and Senior Superintendent of Police
D.B. Roy of Ayodhya also recorded their statements on the demolition. |