Report on Babri Mosque
The Hindustan Times reported on July 1 that a confidential report submitted to Prime Minister, Manmohan Singh on June 30 is understood to have blamed several senior leaders of the BJP for the demolition of the Babri Masjid in Ayodhya 17 years ago.
The destruction of the 16th century mosque by Hindu fanatics in the northern town of Ayodhya triggered some of the worst Hindu-Muslim violence since the partition of the Indian sub-continent in 1947.
The four-volume report given by Justice (retired) MS Liberhan also held then Congress Prime Minister PV Narasimha Rao responsible for not doing enough to stop the demolition.
Opposition leader LK Advani was blamed for creating an environment that led to the demolition of the mosque through his rath yatra in 1990, said news channel CNN-IBN quoting sources.
The others reportedly named in the report were the BJP's Murli Manohar Joshi, Uma Bharti and Vinay Katiyar; VHP's Ashok Singhal and former Uttar Pradesh chief minister Kalyan Singh.
Hindu activists demolished the 16th century Babri Masjid on December 6, 1992 as Advani and senior BJP leaders looked on from a distance. More than 2,000 people died in the communal riots that followed.
For all latest news, follow The Daily Star's Google News channel.
Comments