Dump Liberhan report in Bay of Bengal, says BJP

The debate which resumed, generated enough fireworks as BJP members clashed frequently, mainly with the Congress, even though the Left and SP too attacked the saffron party. Pointing out factual mistakes in the report, BJP leader M Venkaiah Naidu said the document should be "thrown in the Bay of Bengal. I don't know why Parliament is wasting time on it ...the report is not worth reading".

It was like "digging a mountain and catching a mouse", Naidu said. Shiv Sena leader Manohar Joshi said the report "should be thrown in a dustbin" and it should be inquired how Justice Liberhan prepared it. Congress shot back, stating that the Opposition was trying to divert the core issue as to who demolished the mosque.

Describing the demolition as a "well-scripted exercise" by then UP Chief Minister Kalyan Singh, leaders of BJP and Sangh Parivar, HRD Minister Kapil Sibal said the position taken by the party was a "national shame". Vinay Katiyar, named in the report, was often seen clashing with Sibal forcing the Chair to caution him.

Jaya Bachchan (SP) protested against Joshi's comments that Shiv Sena can support a Muslim Prime Minister provided he is ready for a temple at Ayodhya.

Hitting back at Leader of Opposition Arun Jaitley who had dubbed the report as "national joke", Sibal said, "You are playing a joke on the people of the country".

Asking Home Minister P Chidambaram to resign for the leakage of the report, Shiv Sena leader Joshi said his party chief Bal Thackeray had said he was "proud of it (Babri demolition)". Joshi said he would repeat the words of his leader. Referring to recent remarks of Congress General Secretary Rahul Gandhi without naming him, Joshi said he has no objection to a Muslim Prime Minister, provided he "accepts that there was a temple at Ayodhya and he is ready to construct it". He said the House should pass a resolution for construction of the temple.

D Raja (CPI) said Sangh Parivar followed "grammar of anarchy" and it was time they admitted their report. He also attacked the Congress for remaining "mute and meek spectator" to the demolition. Quoting B R Ambedkar, Raja said, "There is no justification for unconstitutional methods...grammar of anarchy must be abandoned for the good of the country."

He wondered when action would be taken as the report took so many years. "Some culprits have retired, some are on the verge of retirement. Some might have passed away by now," he said, adding there is no serious political will for taking action. He equally blamed the Congress asking, "Who opened the lock? Who allowed Shilanyas?" He said a hospital or a school be built at the disputed site.

Sibal said BJP made Ram temple a national issue after it got only two seats in 1984 to further its political interest but it got poetic justice. While Lord Rama renounced power by going to Vanvas (exile), the BJP was after power. But, the people sent them to political exile, he said.

Venkiah Naidu (BJP) said the White Paper brought on the demolition by a Congress government did not talk of conspiracy, the IB told the Supreme Court that there was no conspiracy and similar was the view of the CBI, the then Home Minister S B Chavan, the UP governor and the Bahri panel. He said there are 20 mosques in Ayodhya but not one was touched and asked why only this. He himself replied that it was because it happened to be the birthplace of Lord Rama.

"You ask who demolished it. People of India...The kar sevaks did it. It was under litigation for a long time," he said, referring to the 1984 anti-Sikh riots and the justification of it by the Congress.

"You have alliance with people who oppose Vande Mataram, you object to Saraswati Vandana...If there is one party which is using religion for political purposes, it is Congress," Naidu said referring to Congress party's alliance with Muslim League. Noting that the party was proud of leaders like Vajpayee and Advani, he said the party was not asking for handing over of all temples that were destroyed.

Striking an aggressive note, the BJP leader said, "No force on earth can remove the statues of Lord Rama from that place and take it to another place," and accused the Congress of promoting vote bank politics.
 
"Don't equate Ram with Babar," Naidu said, seeking an understanding on the issue with an approach of give and take and cautioning against offending the majority community. Naidu referred to several Muslim heroes from the world of politics, sports and films saying the party believed in "justice to all and appeasement to none".

Tarlochan Singh (Independent) said the greatest injustice was done by the Congress whose government sent troops to the Golden temple and compared it to the acts of Ahmed Shah Abdali, an Afghan invader. Jayanthi Natarajan (Congress) said such an important issue was treated as a joke by the Leader of Opposition (Arun Jaitley) saying it had shocked the conscience of the countrymen.

She said there was a breach of law and the Constitution on that day and called it "political immorality". She asked the government to limit the number of extensions a commission gets. Natarajan, however, called the report as a documentation which indicated how the Indian republic was brought to the brink of communal disharmony.
She said the "institutions which were sworn to uphold the Constitution of India conspired with those working from outside" and described the demolition as "monstrous and violative of rule of law".