Vajpayee 'shares guilt' for Babri demolition: Congress

Congress today said former prime minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee "shares some guilt" by associating himself with those who were involved with the demolition of Babri Masjid, and if he felt aggrieved by the Liberhan Commission report, he can approach the court.

"Mr Vajpayee shares some guilt...." noted lawyer and senior Congress leader Abhishek Singhvi said in the Rajya Sabha, participating in the debate on the report of the Liberhan Commission that probed into the demolition of Babri Masjid in 1992.

Singhvi, who is also spokesman for the Congress, said, "He (Vajpayee) cannot run with the communal hare and hunt with a secular hound".

However, if the former prime minister, whom he described as a "respected leader" of the country, felt that he was aggrieved by the commission, he could go to court and get the remarks against him expunged.

Singhvi said that Vajpayee had addressed a gathering a day before the mosque demolition where he said that "zameen ka samtal karna padega" (the surface has to be levelled).

SP leader Amar Singh also said that he "respects Atalji, but on December 5 (1992) he talked about zameen ka samtal".

In the Lok Sabha, prime minister Manmohan Singh today apologised for certain inappropriate words used against the former prime minister by a Congress member.