NEW DELHI, 7 December 2006 — The 14th anniversary of the demolition of the Babri Mosque in Ayodhya shook Parliament yesterday with members from both sides using the day to score political points.
Raucous sessions in both the houses of Parliament led to their adjournments without any business transacted except question hour in Rajya Sabha. It was fairly obvious from the beginning that Ayodhya issue would dominate the day.
Both houses of Parliament witnessed utter pandemonium with members from opposition and ruling front raising slogans, forcing the presiding officers to adjourn proceedings repeatedly. While the Lok Sabha was adjourned thrice, Rajya Sabha saw two adjournments.
The tone for the day was set in the morning before the houses met as MPs from Left parties, Samajwadi Party (SP) and the Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) staged a sit-in outside protesting against the razing of the mosque.
The MPs asked the government to take immediate steps to arrest the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leaders charged with the demolition, including Leader of Opposition L.K. Advani who they said should be hanged for the crime. They said BJP leaders like Advani and Murli Manohar Joshi should resign from Parliament.
A frenzied Hindu mob had demolished the 16th century Babri Masjid on Dec. 6, 1992. It triggered widespread riots and has been a major political flash point since, with the BJP campaigning for the construction of a temple there.
Trouble started soon after the Lok Sabha met. Lok Sabha Speaker Somnath Chatterjee had just finished reading out condolence messages for the two former MPs when the BJP MPs were on their legs with placards. One of them read: “Ram naam se sharmate hain, Afzal ko gale lagaate hain,” suggesting that those who were ashamed of Ram were trying to save Mohammed Afzal from execution. Afzal was convicted for his role in the 2001 terror attack on Parliament.
The BJP leaders were also shouting that they would build a temple at the disputed site itself, indicating that the party would refresh its Hindutva agenda for the upcoming Uttar Pradesh elections.
The SP and RJD MPs gathered near the speaker’s podium demanding that the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) proceed against Advani and Joshi.
The speaker adjourned the house immediately for an hour. It met at 12 noon only to witness similar scenes and was adjourned till 2 p.m. and then finally for the day.
Outside the Parliament House, MPs led by Communist Party of India-Marxist’s (CPI-M) Sitaram Yechury and Brinda Karat as well as SP leaders Jaya Bachchan, Amar Singh and Mohan Singh held placards and shouted slogans like “Down, Down Communalism” and “Punish the culprits of Babri demolition.”
“We are demanding action against those who are responsible for the mosque demolition in Ayodhya. The CBI should proceed and arrest those who are walking free and in national politics,” Mohan Singh said.
In the Rajya Sabha, as soon as the question hour ended at 12 noon, deputy chairperson of the house K. Rehman Khan said he had received notices from members who wanted to speak on the demolition.
He called Samajwadi Party leader Amar Singh when the BJP started raising slogans of “Jai Shri Ram.”
The Samajwadi Party MPs responded with counter slogans, and both groups advanced to the chairperson’s podium. When the MPs refused to calm down, the house was adjourned till 2 p.m. It met in the afternoon only to be adjourned for the day.
