Babri Mosque Demolition Issue Stalls Indian Parliament: Report

New Delhi, Dec 8, IRNA -- Babri Masjid demolition on Thursday cast its shadow on Lok Sabha on the 20th anniversary of the incident, with supporters and opponents of the Ayodhya movement paralyzing the proceedings for the entire day. Waving of a black flag by Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) member Shafiqur Rahman Burq to protest the demolition when the House assembled for the day provoked angry reaction from the BJP and Shiv Sena members. The action of the BSP member led to two adjournments and the House was adjourned for the day at 1400 hours. BJP and Shiv Sena members repeatedly stormed the Well demanding naming of Barq, whose action of waving the flag saw Speaker Meira Kumar telling him that he was insulting the House and directing him to keep the flag aside. Several members, including Basudeb Acharia (CPI-M), demanded action on the report of Liberhan Commission which probed its demolition of the Ayodhya mosque as well as against those responsible for the incident. Barq, Asaduddin Owaisi (MIM) as also those from the BJP and Shiv Sena also trooped into the Well, forcing the adjournment of the House till noon for the first time. The proceedings were again disrupted at 1200 hours as BJP and Shiv Sena members were unrelenting on action against Barq, despite P C Chacko, who was in the Chair, pleading with the Opposition leaders that they would be allowed to speak on the issue once Acharia makes his point on the Liberhan panel. When the House reassembled at 1400 hours for the third time, BJP and Shiv Sena members again came into the Well raising slogans seeking construction of a temple at the disputed site. They were countered by Samajwadi Party members who also came in to the Well. This led to Deputy Speaker Karia Munda adjourning the House for the day. Meanwhile, the Supreme Court on Thursday asked a Rae Bareily court to expeditiously hear the Babri Masjid demolition case of Ayodhya against senior BJP leader L K Advani and 19 others against whom the charges of criminal conspiracy had been dropped by the trial court. Expressing deep anguish over non-appearence of the counsel for CBI, which has moved the apex court against dropping of conspiracy charges against the top politicians in the apex court, a bench of justices H L Dattu and C K Prasad directed the trial court to hear the demolitan case expeditiously. The bench, meanwhile, allowed the CBI to remove the name of Bal Thackeray from the list of accused persons as he died recently. The bench pulled up Additional Solicitor General A S Chandiok for not being present in the court to argue the case for CBI saying the law officer is taking the court "casually". Besides Advani, others against whom the CBI wants the charges of criminal conspiracy under Section 120B IPC restored are: Kalyan Singh, Uma Bharti, Satish Pradhan, CR Bansal, MM Joshi, Vinay Katiyar, Ashok Singhal, Giriraj Kishore, Sadhvi Ritambhara, VH Dalmia, Mahant Avaidhynath, RV Vedanti, Param Hans Ram Chandra Das, Jagdish Muni Maharaj, BL Sharma, Nritya Gopal Das, Dharam Das, Satish Nagar and Moreshwar Save. The CBI has moved the apex court challenging the May 21, 2010, order of the Allahabad High Court judgement, which had upheld a special court's decision to drop the charges against the leaders. The high court had at that time, however, allowed the CBI to proceed with other charges against Advani and others in a Rae Bareily court, under which the disputed structure falls. The May 2010 order of the high court had said there was no merit in the CBI's revision petition against the May 4, 2001, order of the special court which directed dropping of criminal conspiracy charges against them. There are two sets of cases -- one against Advani and others who were on the dais at Ram Katha Kunj in Ayodhya in December 1992 when the Babri Masjid was demolished, while the other case was against lakhs of unknown 'karsevaks' who were in and around the disputed structure. The CBI had charge-sheeted Advani and 20 others under sections 153A IPC (promoting enmity between classes), 153B (imputations, assertions prejudicial to national integration) and 505 (false statements, rumours etc circulated with the intent to cause mutiny or disturb public peace). But it subsequently invoked charges under Section 120 B (Criminal Conspiracy) which was quashed by the Special Court whose decision was upheld by the high court. While upholding the special court's order, the high court had said the CBI at no point of time, either during the trial at Rai Bareli or in its revision petition, ever stated that there was offence of criminal conspiracy against the leaders. Meanwhile, according to pti report, amidst tight security, the 20th anniversary of Babri Mosque demolition is being observed today in the twin towns of Ayodhya and Faizabad as "black day" and "shaurya diwas" by Muslim and Hindu outfits respectively. While shops and business establishments owned by Muslims remained partially closed, black flags were seen at some of the mosques. Both the communities are observing the day in their own way even as security forces have been put on high alert at all the sensitive points in the twin towns. Petitioner in the Babri Mosque demolition case, Hashim Ansari said there is no animosity between the two communities. "Politics is still being played in the name of Babri mosque case but the communities and the people want peace", Ansari said, adding that he had full faith in the judicial process and the matter now rests in the hands of the court. Annual "yome gam " program to condemn the demolition of the mosque is scheduled for later in the day at the house of Muslim leader Haji Mehboob. The 16th century Babri Mosque was demolished by Hindu fundamentalists on this day in 1992. The demolition occurred after a religious ceremony turned violent and resulted in several months of inter-communal rioting between India's Hindu and Muslim communities, causing the death of at least 2,000 people./end