M A I N   N E W S

Liberhan panel may call PM
Was Vajpayee at meeting before demolition, ask MPs

New Delhi, August 31
The Liberhan Commission today admitted a request to summon Prime Minister A.B. Vajpayee in the wake of a former senior police official’s allegation that Mr Vajpayee was “privy” to the alleged plot to demolish Ayodhya’s disputed structure on December 6, 1992.

Justice Liberhan said commission would take a decision on the request after due consideration.

Advocate Mushtaq Ahmad in his application to the panel drew its attention to reports appearing in a section of the press quoting former Faizabad Senior Superintendent of Police D.B. Rai as alleging that Mr Vajpayee was privy to the BJP leadership’s plans regarding the Babri masjid and he had even attended a “secret meeting” of senior BJP leaders in Lucknow a day before the demolition occurred.

“If there was any conspiracy to demolish the Babri masjid, Mr Vajpayee was privy to it,” Mr Roy, a former BJP MP, reportedly said before taking over as the national working president of the Hindu Mahasabha yesterday.

“Mr Vajpayee is as much guilty as Mr Advani, Mr Joshi and Mr Kalyan Singh are considered to be,” he said.

According to Mr Rai, the meeting was held at the then Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Kalyan Singh’s home on December 5, 1992, and Home Minister L.K. Advani, who was Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha at that time, and Union Minister M.M. Joshi, the then BJP President, had also attended the secret talks.

Mr Ahmed said the report required that the commission summoned the Prime Minister to meet the ends of justice.

A similar petition is already pending before the commission since last year in which a senior advocate has drawn attention to former Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Kalyan Singh’s statement in Mathura that the demolition of the mosque was a result of a conspiracy hatched by the Sangh Parivar to get political mileage.

Meanwhile, the Congress today asked Prime Minister Vajpayee to clarify whether he had any prior knowledge about the demolition of the Babri masjid.

Raising the issue during zero hour in the Rajya Sabha, former Union Minister Arjun Singh (Cong) said there were reports that Mr Vajpayee attended a meeting at the residence of former Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Kalyan Singh in Lucknow where a conspiracy was hatched to demolish the mosque. “Mr Vajpayee cannot sit quietly. There should be a categorical denial on his part,” he said.

Mr Arjun Singh asked whether Mr Vajpayee was setting up an inquiry. “We cannot have a situation where the Prime Minister is in doubt. It concerns the policy of the nation,” he added. Referring to a report that the VHP was taking over the disputed land in the Babri masjid area, quoting VHP sources, Mr Nilotpal Basu (CPM) said, “Things are getting more mysterious.”

Mr Rama Shankar Kaushik (SP) said several ministers, including Human Resource Minister Murli Manohar Joshi, were present during the secret meeting of senior BJP leaders in Lucknow in 1992 where the conspiracy was hatched. “This should be made clear to the nation,” he added. At this point, Dr Joshi intervened and said no such meeting was convened at the residence of Mr Kalyan Singh. “It is a baseless, mischievous and politically motivated allegation.”

Mr Kalraj Mishra (BJP) said the Prime Minister had stated that the issue would be resolved by March.

Speaking on behalf of the Prime Minister, Mr Pramod Mahajan said no such meeting took place and nobody from the BJP had hatched the conspiracy to demolish the Babri masjid.

Ms Sarla Maheshwari (CPM) said the answers of the ruling party were full of contradictions. UNI

Police was helpless on Dec 6: VHP chief
UP rulers didn’t want firing on ‘kar sevaks’

New Delhi, August 31
The VHP President, Mr Vishnu Hari Dalmia, said today that the police was helpless in stopping the agitated kar sevaks from demolishing the disputed structure at Ayodhya as the political leadership of Uttar Pradesh was not in favour of opening fire on them.

“The police could have controlled the situation only by resorting to firing but they were helpless as the then Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh, Mr Kalyan Singh, had stated in an affidavit before the Supreme Court that short of firing he would do everything,” Mr Dalmia told the Liberhan Commission of inquiry probing the demolition of the disputed structure at Ayodhya on December 6, 1992.

Deposing as a witness before the commission, he said when kar sevaks broke all barriers of discipline, the police tried to control them and resorted to lathi charge. “But such a large crowd could have only been controlled by firing which the policemen were perhaps instructed not to do,” he said.

When asked approximately how much time was taken to demolish the structure, he said: “It took several hours.”

On this when the commission’s counsel asked him to be little more specific, the VHP leader said: “If you think it was done in a planned manner it could have been done much earlier.”

“If you go in a haphazard manner, it naturally takes time,” he added.

When asked did senior BJP leader L.K. Advani ever address the crowd on December 6 from the roof-top of the building from where at least 20 leaders were observing the activities of kar sevaks, Mr Dalmia said: “I don’t exactly remember but obviously with other leaders he tried to use his influence to stop the kar sevaks from their activities.”

The VHP leader said efforts to pacify the agitated kar sevaks must have gone on for an hour or so but when we found that these had no effect, “we reconciled ourselves to the inevitable.”

Mr Dalmia said when it was found that appeals through the public address system had no affect on the crowd, senior VHP leader Ashok Singhal came down to pacify the crowd but he was “thrown out by the kar sevaks.”

“We could see from the roof-top that Mr Singhal was struggling but not succeeding in his effort,” he said.

When the commission’s counsel Anupam Gupta asked whether at any point of time on December 6 he thought of leaving the roof, Mr Dalmia said it was not possible. He said he came down along with other leaders in the evening after the disputed structure was demolished and the makeshift temple was erected where he also paid obeisance to Lord Rama. PTI