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Maneesh Chhibber

(from http://www.indianexpress.com/news/17-years-after-babri-liberhan-files-his-report/483495/0)

Almost 17 years after it was set up to probe the “sequence of events leading, and all facts and circumstances relating to, the occurrences at Ram Janmabhoomi-Babri Masjid complex on December 6, 1992”, the one-member Justice M S Liberhan Commission finally submitted its report to the Union Government today.

The demolition of the Babri Masjid in Ayodhya had triggered communal riots in the country, claiming many lives.
Accompanied by Commission counsel Harpreet Singh Giani, Liberhan handed over a four-volume report to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh this morning. It is learnt that a copy of the report has been forwarded to the Union Home Ministry for action.

While Minister of State for Parliamentary Affairs V Narayanasamy told reporters that the report would be tabled in Parliament along with an Action Taken Report (ATR) during the Budget session, sources in the Home Ministry denied any such move. “There is no deadline. We will study the report and take a call,” a senior MHA official told The Indian Express.

While the contents of the report have not been made public, sources in the Commission said the report comes down heavily on the then Uttar Pradesh government of Kalyan Singh and its top officers for failing to prevent the demolition of the Babri Masjid.

“The Commission has also taken a negative view of the failure of the then Congress government at the Centre led by P V Narasimha Rao in protecting the disputed structure,” said a source associated with the Commission.

Commission functionaries, however, refused to say whether BJP leader L K Advani, over whose role Liberhan and previous Commission counsel Anupam Gupta had a bitter fallout, has been indicted or let off.

Liberhan too refused to say anything on the report. “I have submitted my report to the Government. It is now for it to decide whatever it wants.”

Liberhan had also been mandated to probe the role played by then Chief Minister Kalyan Singh, his ministerial colleagues, officials of the UP government and by individuals, agencies and organisations in bringing down the structure. He was also tasked to probe deficiencies in security measures and the attack on mediapersons on the day of the demolition.

Set up on December 16, 1992 by the Central government, the Liberhan Commission received as many as 48 extensions and was criticised by many Muslim organisations and NGOs for failing to submit its report in a time-bound manner.

Asked what took him so long, Liberhan said: “I have written the reasons in my report. Beyond that I will not say anything.” He did blame the “non-cooperative attitude” of some people for the delay but took no names. He said he was “independent” and “relieved” after submitting the report. “I didn’t have any pressure from anybody.”

To a question whether he feared that the report would be used for political considerations, Liberhan said: “I am not afraid of anything. It is for the people of this country to take note of that.”

Among those who appeared before the Commission to depose were former PMs Rao and V P Singh, BJP leaders Advani, Murli Manohar Joshi and Vinay Katiyar, former UP Chief Minister Kalyan Singh, Congress leader Arjun Singh, Uma Bharati, VHP leaders V H Dalmia, Ashok Singhal, former Union Cabinet Secretary Prabhat Kumar, then Home Secretary Madhav Godbole, senior civil and police officers, civilians and journalists.

Officials associated with the panel say that apart from Uma Bharati and, to a certain extent, Kalyan SIngh — both are now out the BJP — no BJP functionary showed any inclination to share responsibility for the December 6 incident. In fact, most BJP leaders told the Commission that they had tried to prevent Kar Sevaks from carrying out the demolition.

“During her deposition in 2001, Uma Bharati became emotional and blurted out that the structure deserved to be brought down. However, during subsequent cross-examination, she claimed she was at a distance from the disputed structure and when she saw the structure being pulled down, she tried to stop it,” said a source.

Kalyan Singh, who quit the BJP and supported the SP in the 2009 Lok Sabha election, first got a court stay to avoid deposing before the panel. Later, when the protection granted was lifted, he appeared as the last witness and his deposition was said to be “very productive”.

“His (Singh’s) was the longest testimony before the Commission which continued for 20-odd sittings and his deposition ran into over 400 pages. In fact, he volunteered to submit an affidavit and written statements which most top leaders avoided,” recalled an official.

In his testimony, Singh claimed that the demolition “was an act of God… whatever happened on that day, the deponent has no regret, no repentance, no sorrow, and no grief for that… Historians will write that devotees of Ram and devotees of the nation had demolished this symbol of slavery and disgrace and though this demolition was not unexpected, it was purely sudden and totally unplanned.”

But most leaders, including Advani, denied knowledge of any plan to demolish the structure or having instigated the Kar Sevaks to do so.

During his testimony, which runs into almost 200 pages, Advani said while the BJP wanted a Ram temple, it didn’t intend to hurt the sentiments of Muslims.

Commission sources recall that during one of the hearings, Advani took strong exception to the manner of questioning by the then counsel of the Commission, Anupam Gupta. “He was upset by the line of questioning. He said the counsel was asking questions beyond the terms of reference of the Commission. He also asked Justice Liberhan to take action against Gupta,” said the source.