BENGALURU: “If nobody is guilty, then who demolished Babri Masjid?” asked senior Congress leader and Rajya Sabha MP Mallikarjun Kharge, in response to the CBI Special Court’s verdict in the case acquitting 32 accused, including BJP leaders. Kharge recalled that BJP leader Lal Krishna Advani had himself referred to the incident as a “terrible mistake” and Atal Bihari Vajpayee had claimed that kar sevaks went out of control, leading to the “unfortunate incidents in Ayodhya”.
“How will people believe this? It is not fair to say they are not guilty, when everybody could see and hear everything. Slogans of ‘Ek dhakka aur do, Babri Masjid tod do’ and photographs of Uma Bharati with MM Joshi are all there as recorded evidence. The SC, too, in 2019 had said that demolition of the mosque was illegal. If the lower court has not taken cognizance of the SC’s stance, then there is a lacuna in the judgment,” Kharge said, adding that there should be a review petition. He also pointed out that the demolition was preceded by Advani’s well-planned Rath Yatra.
Leader of Opposition in the Karnataka assembly Siddaramaiah, too, urged the Uttar Pradesh state and Union governments to appeal against the verdict. “The judgment of the Special Court to acquit all 32 accused in the Babri Masjid demolition case is unfortunate. Looks like they have not taken the 2019 judgment of the Supreme Court, and Constitutional principles into consideration,” he said. Siddaramaiah said the question of who demolished the masjid remained unanswered, and an appeal should be made in the SC.