The Liberhan Commission

In a scorching indictment of the entire Sangh Parivar, the Liberhan commission that probed the demolition of the Babri Masjid, has said the BJP, Shiv Sena, Bajrang Dal and VHP hatched an elaborate conspiracy to not just demolish the Babri Masjid but bring the country “to the brink of communal discord.’’ In a voluminous report running into almost 1,000 pages, Justice M S Liberhan has spared no saffron leader, not even Atal Bihari Vajpayee, who is termed as a “pseudo-moderate’’, pretending to keep a distance from the Ram Janmabhoomi campaign when he was actually aware of the conspiracy. The report has dismissed all the arguments of the BJP leadership and its saffron allies denying any pre-planned plot behind the destruction of the Mughal era mosque in Ayodhya on December 6, 1992. The report, which took 17 years and 48 extensions to write, says that the demolition was a result of the RSS-led conspiracy,rather than the spontaneous expression of the sentiments of Hindus favouring the construction of a Ram temple on the disputed site. This was despite the fact the report lists not just L K Advani and Murli Manohar Joshi as being culpable, but also mentions Vajpayee as one of the persons who misled the people with his pretence of detachment from the movement. The Liberhan panel has not spared the Muslim leadership for its role in the Babri dispute. In scathing words, the report said “selective communal Muslim leaders” chose to remain bystanders during the controversy for lure of building personal influence or enhancing their poiltical influence and for self gain.