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No commitment made to re-build mosque: Rao

No commitment made to re-build mosque: Rao

Author: Navhind Times correspondent
Publications: The Navhind Times, Panaji, Goa
Dated: February 21, 2001

The former prime minister, Mr. P V Narasimha Rao, on Tuesday told the Justice Liberhan Commission of inquiry that there was no commitment from his government to re-build the Babri mosque demolished in Ayodhya on December 6, 1992 on the same place.

Deposing before the Commission probing the factors that led to the demolition of the Mosque for the second consecutive day, Mr. Rao said all that his government's white paper stated was that the government would rebuild "the structure" that existed on the disputed land. He went a step ahead to say it was for the court of law to find out whether a mosque or a temple existed on the site. "Accordingly the government would have built a mosque or temple" Rao said adding it was the import of the white paper his government then had submitted. Mr. Rao buttressed his arguments by citing the dispute "whether a temple or a mosque exited" was going on in a local court since 1947 and courts of law could not come to any conclusion in all these 54 years.

"Since there is a dispute....we call it a disputed structure or disputed land ... what's wrong in that" an irritated Mr. Rao asked during cross examination by the defence counsel. He kept his cool throughout and projected himself as a "democrat." He said since he was a democrat he did not dismiss the Kalyan Singh led BJP government in UP then. He went by the Sakaria Commission report which had recommended that Article 356 of the Constitution invoked to dismiss a state government should be used in "rarest of rare cases."

Secondly, the then governor's report was against imposition of the President's rule in the state, although senior leaders like Messrs. Jyoti Basu, Mulayam Singh and others had then clamoured for the dismissal of the state government.

Quoting from the governor's report Mr. Rao said the governor was against imposition of the Central Rule as lakhs of kar sevaks had already gathered around the site and dismissal of the state government would have resulted in "blood shed" not only in UP but also in several states. Secondly, Mr. Kalyan Singh as well as the UP government had in a sworn affidavit stated before the Supreme Court that the structure would not be harmed at all.

Mr. Rao said the Supreme Court itself had allowed "limited kar seva and he could do nothing about. When the defence counsel implied whether his memory served him better at this age and stage of health, Mr. Rao retorted holding "it is unfair to question my memory on every statement I make."

In a related development Mr. Kalyan Singh today moved the Apex Court seeking to club his petition in the Delhi High Court along with the one he had already filed before the Allahabad High Court.

Mr. Singh argued in the petition, yet to be taken up by the Supreme Court, that since both the petitions were on "similar and same issues" a High Court of his convenience, Allahabad High Court in this case, should take up the matter.

In both the petitions Mr. Singh stated that Liberhan Commission should not summon him as he was already an accused in the criminal case. His argument is that the Commission summoning him would force him to make statements which would be used against him as evidence in the criminal case in the trial court.

The apex court would take up the matter in due course.
 


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