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ShareJustice MS Liberhan, we are told, is incandescent with rage at his report on the demolition of the disputed Ram Janmabhoomi-Babri Masjid structure on December 6, 1992, being leaked to The Indian Express. Home minister P Chidambaram insists the report was not leaked from North Block.
Curiously, NDTV 24x7 has been broadcasting chunks from "the authentic document". The leak to NDTV follows the home minister's statement in parliament. Since there are only two copies of the report, someone somewhere must be leaking its contents.
There is nothing surprising about the Liberhan Commission's report finding its way to the media before being tabled in parliament. Rajiv Gandhi was forced to table the Thakkar Commission report dealing with Indira Gandhi's assassination after its contents appeared in newspapers. So also with the Jain Commission report on Rajiv Gandhi's killing by the LTTE.
What is interesting is the timing of the leak of the Liberhan Commission's report. Was the purpose to divide the opposition which has been acting in unison from the first day of the winter session? The government was forced to rescind its sugarcane ordinance on account of the opposition's show of unity last week. Or was it to ensure that the opposition does not pursue issues such as inflation and corruption [for instance, the 2G scam] with the same vigour as the issue of sugarcane prices?
Whatever the reason, the move seems to have backfired. The BJP, which has been facing internal turmoil since last summer's general election, can be expected to close ranks on the Liberhan report. What has worked against the government's interest is the alleged inclusion of Atal Bihari Vajpayee's name in the list of those who are purported to have been held guilty of demolishing the disputed structure.
Given Vajpayee's towering personality and reputation, and the fact that he was never actively associated with the Ram Mandir agitation of the late 1980s and early 1990s -- apart from Jaswant Singh, he was perhaps the only senior BJP leader not present in Ayodhya on December 6, 1992 -- any charge, no matter how tangential, against him is not going to wash. The Congress realises this; hence, perhaps, the damage-control through certain media outlets that Vajpayee has not been categorically indicted.
That, however, may prove to be too little too late. The BJP has sensed an opportunity and will use the absurdity of implicating Vajpayee to its advantage. The perceived attack on Vajpayee will also serve to bring together the party's leaders who are otherwise a divided lot over impending organisational changes. The party's listless cadre can be expected to enthusiastically rally round Vajpayee.
At the popular level, too, the reaction to the purported naming of Vajpayee is going to be one of disbelief and disquiet -- especially in Uttar Pradesh where the Congress is working hard for an upswing in its electoral fortunes. Brahmins won't take kindly to any attempt at tarring Vajpayee's reputation in so frivolous a manner.
In a sense, it is advantage BJP for the moment, which explains why the Congress is not exactly gloating. Any motive that may have been there behind the alleged leak has turned out to be a serious miscalculation.
(Kanchan Guota is associate editor of The Pioneer. He served as Atal Bihari Vajpayee's aide in the PMO.)
