Centre says verdict doesn’t absolve Advani of Babri demolition

The Union home ministry is of the considered opinion that the Allahabad high court verdict approving the disputed site in Ayodhya as the birthplace of Lord Ram does not absolve LK Advani and other BJP leaders of the charge of demolishing Babri Masjid. It, however, won’t take any special steps to fast track the case against them.

The ministry said on Tuesday the criminal case against Advani was being pursued by CBI and it had no role in it. It also declined to join issue with BJP, which is claiming that the high court judgment has paved the way for construction of a Ram Temple in Ayodhya.

A source in the home ministry said the government would not intervene till the judicial process was completed. Some of the litigating parties were preparing to move the Supreme Court against the high court verdict and it was for the apex court to take a final view on the matter, the source said. Cases related to demolition of Babri Masjid were proceeding at their own pace in other courts, he said.

Meanwhile, BJP is in a dilemma whether to exploit the judgment to woo back its committed vote bank or adopt a balanced approach since it is contesting the Bihar assembly election with JD(U), which is opposed to milking the issue for political gain.

If insiders are to be believed, there is a strong difference of opinion between RSS and BJP on the issue, with the former reportedly having directed the party to stay away from Ayodhya.

Publicly, BJP leaders are harping on reconciliation, but there are attempts in the organisation to exploit the situation for political gain. An immediate indication of this was a well-attended function organised by the party’s Delhi unit on Tuesday to “celebrate” the high court judgment by honouring lawyers, led by BJP’s chief spokesperson Ravi Shankar Prasad, who fought the case.

Attacking Congress for linking the verdict with demolition of Babri Masjid, another party spokesperson Nirmala Sitharaman said, “It is a high court verdict which has come on a bunch of civil suits. To that extent, we respect what has come in the judgment. At this stage, there is no need to time and again link it with the demolition of Babri Masjid, on which a separate case is being heard by the court.”