New Delhi:
In 1992 little over 12 hours before the Babri Masjid was demolished, Atal Behari Vajpayee addressing a BJP rally in Lucknow had said, "There are stones with sharp pointed." Was this a hint that there was a plan to bring down the mosque?
The Liberhan Report, which assigns responsibility for the demolition, seems to think so. It includes Vajpayee on a list of 68 people responsible for "leading the country to the brink of communal discord." Perhaps emboldened by that, the Congress says there's little doubt that Vajpayee knew what was about to unfold when he gave that speech. "We cannot forget the day before the demolition...of Vajpayee's statement of sharp stones," says Congress spokesperson Jayanti Natarajan
The Liberhan Report is fairly biting about Vajpayee. Noting that he was not in Ayodhya during the demolition of the mosque, it says there were obvious attempts that some leaders were "kept out to preserve secular credentials." Suggesting that Vajpayee cannot be excused, the report says, "The Babri demolition cartel was supported by icons of movement like Advani, Joshi and Vajpayee."
But it's those references to Vajpayee that have given the BJP some much-needed ammunition to challenge the report. After all, the same Justice Liberhan who finds Vajpayee culpable didn't ever summon him during the 17-year inquiry. Constitutional experts say if anyone's looking for a weakness in the report this could be it.
"If findings have to be given against a person, he has to be heard. That's law, and the law says such persons should be heard. So if remarks are made against Vajpayee, any adverse remarks will not be legal. Vajpayee can challenge the finding... in court," explains PP Rao, Constitutional Expert.
Lending more ammunition to the BJP is IB Singh, who represented officials charged in court with the demolition of the mosque. He says, "I made a request to the commission of Inquiry- so did Mohd Aslam Bhure, who represented the minority members- to summon Mr. Vajpayee...but no orders were passed. Our petitions were not even heard" The BJP also points out that the Liberhan Report indicts other party leaders it never summoned, including Pramod Mahajan, Lalji Tandon and Govindacharya.
This is some of the homework that the BJP's legal eagles, Arun Jaitley and Ravi Shankar Prasad ,will do as they examine the report. But there is Vajpayee's ill health to consider- he's in no shape to handle a court battle. And the worry that in today's politics, Ayodhya is no longer a vote-getter. So the BJP may confront the challenge of fighting the Liberhan Report with a moderate tone and face.