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ShareNew Delhi: After 48 extensions and 399 hearings involving over 100 witnesses spread in nearly 17 years, justice MS Liberhan today submitted his report on the demolition of Babri Masjid, an event for which saffron leaders including LK Advani, Murli Manojhar Joshi, Kalyan Singh and Uma Bharati have been chargesheeted in criminal cases.
Retired justice Liberhan, who moved from Punjab and Haryana High Court to Madras and Andhra Pradesh later, submitted his four-voulme report to prime minister Manmohan Singh this morning which could be tabled in Parliament that begins its budget session from Thursday. Home minister P Chidambaram was also present.
Justice Liberhan, who was appointed to head the commission ten days after the demoltion on December 6, 1992, refused to disclose details of his findings that cost Rs eight crore in all, but the saffron leaders saw a political conspiracy in the timing of report submission.
Four years ago, the hearings of the commission concluded but not before a controversy broke out with the commission's counsel Anupam Gupta dissociating himself from it owing to personal differences with justice Liberhan.
Advani, Joshi, Bharti and Kalyan Singh, who was the BJP chief minister at the time of demolition, appeared before the commission as witnesses. Kalyan Singh apppeared only after the Delhi High Court lifted a stay order on his deposition.
Others against whom criminal cases are pending in the demolition of the disputed structure in Ayodhya included VHP leader Ashok Singhal and Bajrang Dal's Vinay Katiyar.
Even before the findings of the commission were out, Congress and BJP leaders clashed over the issue.
Senior Congress leader Digvijay Singh said it was well known that important leaders like Advani, Joshi, Bharti and Katiyar were present on the spot at the time of demolition and slogans like 'one more push' were made to instigate the demolition squads.
BJP spokesperson Ravishankar Prasad said the comments of Digvijay Singh showed the conspiracy of the Congress party in the matter.
Former BJP leader Uma Bharti, who now heads the Bharatiya Janshakti, said the commission's findings were over during the tenure of Atal Bihari Vajpayee as prime minister, but the fact that the report was being submitted now goes according to the plans of Congress to attract the Muslim vote in three years for the coronation of Rahul Gandhi as prime minister.
RSS spokesman Ram Madhav said what happened on December 6 was a result of "collective failure" of successive governments and it would be a "political fallacy" to hold individual leaders responsible for the demolition.
Advani met with senior leaders at his house here but party sources said it was a routine meeting to discuss matters relating to the coming budget session. Arun Jaitley, the new Leader of Opposition in Rajya Sabha, and Sushma Swaraj, deputy
leader of the party in Lok Sabha, were among those present.
Party president Rajnath Singh said the BJP leaders fully cooperated with the commission, which has submitted the report after a "long delay".
Chidambaram said he expected the report to be forwarded to the home ministry for necessary action.
The report may be tabled along with Action Taken Report (ATR) now that Parliament will begin its month-long session on July two.
Liberhan said he was feeling free today after having submitted the report.
Refusing to divulge the contents of the report, he said, "I submitted the report to the prime minister. There are various things that I have stated in my report. You can read. It is up to the media to commend it or condemn it."
Asked why the commission, which had got 48 extensions, took 17 years to prepare its report, he attributed it to delay in getting witnesses and the non-cooperative attitude of some people. But he refused to name them.
He said the report is a "privilege" of Parliament and he would not be able to say if he has recommended any penal punishment. "I can't open my mouth for this. The report can speak when it comes out."
