Congress book blames BJP 'collusion' for Babri demolition

A book brought out by Congress blamed the "collusion" of the then BJP government in Uttar Pradesh for the demolition of Babri Masjid in 1992, obliquely backing late Prime Minister PV Narasimha Rao who has often been accused of failure to protect the disputed shrine.

"The choice before the government was firing on the crowd which would have led to a violent Hindu backlash, non-intervention, which would leave communal forces unchecked," the party said in the book 'Congress and the Making of the Indian Nation.'

Dwelling on the developments leading to the demolition, the Congress noted that in 1989, when the VP Singh government came to power with the outside support of BJP, CPI and CPI(M), the BJP adopted the Ram Janmabhoomi issue as its agenda.

"In 1990, it (BJP) organised a Rath yatra led by LK Advani, which enhanced communal tensions.

"On 6 December 1992, the VHP organised a huge rally of volunteers in Ayodhya and demolished the Babri mosque while top BJP leaders looked on....In fact, the destruction took place with the collusion of the state government," it said.

The contention in the book is significant as Sitaram Kesari, who took over as party chief after Rao, had denied him a ticket to contest Lok Sabha elections holding him guilty of failure to protect the Babri Masjid.

As regards Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi, the book says their "refusal" to occupy government posts reflects a re-orientation of the leaders towards rebuilding party and seeing themselves as servants of the people and not the rulers.

"In a way, this also reflects the growing realization that the party needs to reengage with its social base," it said.

At the AICC briefing, Congress spokesperson Shakeel Ahmed declined to comment on the issue.

"I have not gone through that chapter of the book", he said when asked whether the suggestions in the book meant that Rahul is not going to be in the government in future.

The book was released by Manmohan Singh and Sonia Gandhi at last week’s plenary as part of the 125-year celebrations. It is the fifth of a series planned during the 1985 centenary celebrations under Rajiv’s leadership.