Uproar in Indian parliament over Babri mosque report
24 November, 2009
NEW DELHI: Hindu nationalist lawmakers in India caused uproar in parliament on Monday after accusations they had orchestrated the razing of a mosque that led to bloody religious riots 17 years ago. Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) members repeatedly shouted down the speaker over newspaper claims that an official inquiry into the Babri Mosque’s demolition “indicted” the party’s leaders. The Indian Express newspaper also claimed the probe, which will be published shortly, concluded that the 1992 attack on the Muslim shrine by hordes of Hindu zealots was “meticulously planned.” Home Minister P Chidambaram said that the report should not be judged until it was published finally later in the current parliamentary session. “There is only one copy of the Liberhan Commission report with the home ministry and it is in safe custody and no one has spoken to any journalist about it,” he said, as opposition protests forced the house to adjourn. The Express said the probe “indicted” Atal Behari Vajpayee —- a former BJP prime minister who is widely respected as a moderate Hindu nationalist — and LK Advani, the current hard line leader who was then deputy premier. End.
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