 New Delhi, June 30, 2009: The report on the December 6, 1992 demolition of the Babri Masjid in Ayodhya was submitted by retired judge M.S. Liberhan to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Tuesday. It took the commission of inquiry headed by Justice Liberhan 17 years and 48 extensions to arrive at this point.
The government says it is prepared for a full debate on the report in the Budget Session of Parliament, which begins on July 2. It has said it will table the report, along with the action taken report, within the session, which ends on August 7.
The BJP, meanwhile, appears to have already gone on the defensive. Government and Congress sources said the BJP would be completely isolated on this issue, adding that no party in the NDA, barring the Shiv Sena, would support it.
The saffron leaders saw a political conspiracy in the timing of the submission of the report, while the Congress said "excessive protests" by the BJP even before the contents of the Liberhan Commission report were made public showed a "guilty mind". "Excessive protests by the BJP in advance reflects a guilty mind," Congress spokesperson Abhishek Singhvi said while reacting to the BJP’s statements after the report was submitted to Dr Singh.
RSS spokesman Ram Madhav said what had happened on December 6, 1992 was a result of the "collective failure" of successive governments, and that it would be a "political fallacy" to hold individual leaders responsible for the demolition.
The Liberhan Commission report may lead to the filing of supplementary chargesheets against top leaders of the BJP and Sangh Parivar cited as accused in the demolition case. "The report, in four volumes with an extensive set of annexures, will now be further processed by the home ministry," the Prime Minister’s Office said. Home minister P. Chidambaram, when approached by reporters, said he had not read the report and hoped it would be forwarded to the home ministry in the course of the day.
Politically, the issue could either die out or take a different turn in the Hindi heartland. If the Mandal issue virtually routed the Congress in Uttar Pradesh and Bihar since 1989, gave the BJP premier position and the regional parties a role at the national level, it also ended one-party rule at the Centre. But if the report is implemented by the government, it may set new rules for political games.
The BJP could well find itself cornered in both Houses of Parliament as even its JD(U) ally will not back it on this issue. The question of BJP floor coordination with the anti-Congress parties, particularly the Left, AIADMK, BJD, TDP and TRS, would become more difficult. "Ninety per cent of Parliament is against the BJP on the demolition," said minister of state for parliamentary affairs V. Narayanasamy.
The commission of inquiry was granted 48 extensions. It conducted 399 hearings involving over 100 witnesses spread over nearly 17 years. Saffron leaders, including Mr L.K. Advani, Dr Murli Manohar Joshi, Mr Kalyan Singh and Ms Uma Bharti, have been chargesheeted in criminal cases in connection with the demolition.
Union home minister P. Chidambaram was also present when Justice Liberhan submitted his report to Dr Singh. The retired judge, appointed to head the commission 10 days after the demolition of the Babri Masjid, refused to disclose the details of his findings, which cost Rs 8 crores, the bulk of which was spent on salaries and perks of supporting staff. The hearings of the commission concluded four years ago, but two years ago a controversy broke out with the commission’s counsel, Anupam Gupta, dissociating himself from it owing to personal differences with Justice Liberhan.
Mr Advani, Dr Joshi, Ms Uma Bharti and Mr Kalyan Singh, who was the BJP chief minister of Uttar Pradesh at the time of the demolition, appeared before the commission as witnesses. Mr Kalyan Singh appeared only after the Delhi high court lifted a stay order on his deposition.
Others against whom criminal cases are pending in the demolition of the disputed structure in Ayodhya include VHP leader Ashok Singhal and the Bajrang Dal’s Vinay Katiyar.
The commission, mandated to inquire into the circumstances leading to the demolition of the Babri Masjid, was to submit its report by March 16, 1993, but sought repeated extensions to complete its probe. The last three-month extension was given in March this year.
"I am independent today," is what Justice Liberhan said after submitting the report. Refusing to divulge anything about the report, he said, "I have submitted the report to the Prime Minister. There are various things that I have reported in my report. You can read it when the report is released."
Asked why the commission, which had got 48 extensions, took so long to prepare its report, Justice Liberhan blamed it on the court stay order, "procuring witness and the non-cooperative attitude" of some people. Justice Liberhan said the government will study the report and take action accordingly, and then submit the report and action taken report in Parliament. Stating that the report is a "privilege" of Parliament and hence he would not be able to specify whether or not he had recommended any penal punishment, he said: "I can’t open my mouth on this. The report can speak when it comes out."
During the extended proceedings, the commission recorded the statements of senior BJP leaders L.K. Advani, Murli Manohar Joshi and the then UP CM, Mr Kalyan Singh. The panel had finished hearing the last witness in 2005. ( Source: The Asian Age, july 1, 2009, http://www.asianage.com/presentation/leftnavigation/news/top-story/17-years-on,-babri-report-with-pm,-bjp-starts-to-stammer-.aspx ) |
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