NEW DELHI, 30 November 2006 — Senior Bharatiya Janata Party leader L.K. Advani, who had played a major role in spearheading the Ram Janambhoomi campaign that led to the demolition of Babri Masjid in December 1992, said yesterday he was very sorry for the razing of the mosque.
Advani said he was not involved in the demolition of the mosque, but added he was proud to have participated in the Ram Janambhoomi movement. The BJP leader said he had repeatedly been accused of taking part in the razing of the mosque and he thought he should clarify his position. He also pointed out that he had earlier expressed regrets over the incident when he appeared before the Lieberhan Commission that was set up to investigate the issue.
Advani had to clarify his position when Gurudas Dasgupta of the Communist Party of India equated him with Jharkhand Mukti Morcha leader and Coal Minister Shibu Soren who had to quit the Cabinet on Tuesday following his conviction in a murder case. Soren’s resignation was accepted by President A.P.J. Abdul Kalam yesterday.
Referring to Soren case, Dasgupta sought an explanation from Advani over his involvement in the demolition of the mosque, for which he had been charged.
The government came under heavy fire from opposition parties yesterday because of Soren’s conviction.
In a stormy Parliament session MPs, led by the BJP, demanded Prime Minister Manmohan Singh explain why he had let Soren into the Cabinet.
Soren resigned late Tuesday after a Delhi court found him guilty of conspiracy in the 1994 abduction and murder of his former private secretary.
Sentencing in the case will take place today, with Soren potentially facing the death penalty.
“Earlier we were trying to focus attention on the criminalization of the politics, but now we have the criminalization of the council of ministers,” said Advani.
Advani threatened to stall parliamentary proceedings until “the prime minister gives us an assurance on this issue in Parliament.” But Parliamentary Affairs Minister Priyaranjan Dasmunsi only responded by saying “it is most unfortunate that Advani has raised this issue.” “The prime minister does not owe an explanation to the house,” he said.
The Central Bureau of Investigation said private secretary Shashi Nath Jha was murdered because he was blackmailing Soren over a political scandal.
Four lawmakers from the party allegedly accepted bribes in July 1993 to vote against a no-confidence motion against the Congress government, then in power and headed by Prime Minister Narasimha Rao.
“Jha knew some money had changed hands and had been demanding money from Soren,” a CBI official, who asked not to be named, told AFP.
Soren’s party is now part of the ruling coalition government, headed by the Congress party, and has five lawmakers in the 545-member federal Parliament.
Several opposition lawmakers shouted during yesterday’s Parliament session, “We have only one question? How many murderer ministers do you have in the Cabinet?
The BJP has said it will press for the resignation of other officials, such as junior minister for water resources Jai Prakash Narayan Yadav, who faces criminal charges for allegedly helping secure his brother’s release from police custody.
India has become notorious for its lawless politicians, thanks in part to a Supreme Court judgment in 2003 that required them to disclose criminal records.
A study by an Indian watchdog after the disclosure rule was put in place found that nearly a quarter of the more than 540 people elected to Parliament in 2004 faced criminal charges ranging from murder to rape.
