NEW DELHI, 10 June — The main opposition Congress party president, Sonia Gandhi, has written to Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee about expediting the trial of three Union Cabinet members involved in the Ayodhya demolition case. The members are L.K. Advani, M.M. Joshi and Uma Bharati.
She wrote “We have been informed that the central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) sent a communication more than a month ago, recommending that the central government advise the Uttar Pradesh government to rectify irregularities in the notification.”
In the letter, she also said, “We have been told that no action has been taken so far in this matter either by the center or the UP government If true, this is very distressing indeed.”
In February the Allahabad High Court observed that due to a legal anomaly, proceedings against the ministers could not be taken. The court also suggested that this could be rectified by issuing a fresh notification.
Proceedings against the other 26 in the demolition case have begun. Sixteen of the 26 were present in the court on June 8 the first day of the proceedings. June 22 has been fixed as the date for filing of charges against them. Special Judge S.K. Shukla has said that if any of the 26 accused are not present in the court on June 22, non-bailable warrants will be issued for them.
The UP Chief Minister Rajnath Singh claims to have sought the Legal Departments opinion on the issue and has said that a decision would be dependent on it. According to the state Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) chief, Kalraj Mishra, “The court order has proved that our leaders are not guilty and so there is no need for fresh notification.” The Congress leader in charge of UP affairs, Ghulam Nabi Azad, said, “The Congress will not sit idle and will force the government to issue a fresh notification.
The court has advised that the government can issue a fresh notification so that the trial can begin.” One of the accused, the former UP Chief Minister Kalyan Singh said, “The UP government should issue a fresh notification on legal, moral and democratic grounds in the Ayodhya case.” He said, “We can prove our innocence in the courts. I am certain the public will give us more respect if this is done instead of protecting BJP leaders by avoiding a fresh notification.”
