Outrage in Indian parliament over Ayodhya report
Updated
There's been uproar in the Indian parliament after a leaked government report into the destruction of the Ayodhya mosque 17 years ago included serious allegations against leaders of the BJP political party. The incident in which Hindu extremists stormed the mosque in northern India led to widespread riots, in which hundreds of people died.
The report was submitted to the government in June but its contents hadn't been made public, until leaked excerpts were published in a national newspaper. After an emergency cabinet meeting, the government tabled the report in parliament on Tuesday - a month earlier than planned but that hasn't satisfied the opposition.
Presenter: Girish Sawlani
Speakers: Sushma Swaraj, senior leader with the BJP; Manish Tiwari, Congress Party spokesman; Professor Mohammad Mujtaba Khan, political analyst, Jamia Milia Islamia University
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SAWLANI: It was one of the darkest chapters in India's history, which divided the country along religious lines. In 1992, a group of Hindu extremists stormed the Babri Mosque in the historic city of Ayodhya, burning it to the ground. SFX... Riots erupted across the country in the wake of the attack, leaving more than 2000 people dead. Shortly aferwards, the Congress Party government ordered an inquiry into the events leading up the mosque attack but the findings were postponed more than 40 times. Finally, after 17 years, the inquiry's findings were to have been tabled in parliament next month but now parts of the report have been leaked to the media. The Indian Express has published excerpts, containing recommendations that senior members of the opposition Bharata Janata Party should be indicted over the Ayodhya incident -- including the BJP's leader LK Advani and former Prime Minister, Atal Behari Vajpayee. According to the newspaper, the two leaders were labelled "pseudo moderates" in the report and that it suggests the build-up to the Mosque's demolition was meticulously planned. The BJP has reacted angrily to the report, accusing the ruling Congress party of selective leaks. Sushma Swaraj is a senior leader with the BJP.
SWARAJ: (Translation) The home minister must reveal where the leak came from. And if he does not disclose it, then we straightaway accuse that it was leaked by the government as the newspaper reporter mentioned sources from the home ministry.
SAWLANI: In response, Congress Party spokesman, Manish Tiwari, says the leak will be investigated.
TIWARI: Leakage of reports is a very serious issue, especially if they appear before they are presented before parliament and I am confident that the government would take cognisance of this.
SAWLANI: Whether the Liberhan Commission of Inquiry report was leaked or not, its contents were due to have been tabled in full to parliament next month. Political analyst, Professor Muhammad Mujtaba Khan, believes the BJP is attempting to sidestep the implications contained in the inquiry findings.
KHAN: I don't think there was any attempt on the behalf of government to leak it. It's opposition propaganda. They are trying to find some alibi to justify that elections are coming, therefore I think they're trying to politicise and exploit the issue, not more than that. Of the facts that were reported, I think most of the things were true.
SAWLANI: However he says the specific allegations published in the Indian Express will badly damage the BJP's credibility.
KHAN: The report will further expose them because some of the leaders who the people thought were better faces from the party even those names are there. It is something surprising but adverse effects will be there and they will be exposed more.
SAWLANI: As politicians from both sides debate the issue in parliament, authorities have strengthened security at religious sites in the Babri Mosque's home state of Uttar Pradesh.
