BJP wants Liberhan probe into Babri demolition in parliament

New Delhi, Nov 23 : The Liberhan Commission of Inquiry into the 1992 demolition of the Babri Masjid should be tabled in parliament, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) demanded Monday following a media report that its leaders, including veterans Atal Bihari Vajpayee and L.K. Advani, had been indicted.

Taking umbrage, Leader of Opposition Advani said in the Lok Sabha that the report should be tabled immediately. He said he was shocked by the report.

"It took 17 years for this report to get published; the contents of the report are not known to anyone and we are also keen to know the contents of the report," added BJP leader Rajiv Pratap Rudy.

He told a television channel that the Congress had "selectively leaked" the report to a section of the media to distract the nation "from core issues like the price rise".

Demanding that it be tabled in parliament, he said: "We are prepared for it... why is the Congress shying away from submitting the report in parliament."

His colleague Murli Manohar Joshi, who is reportedly also named, echoed him when he said: "...Such leakages are made with a political motive and the government should place the entire report in parliament and then we will discuss it. Six months have passed since the report was submitted and the Action Taken Report (ATR) has not been tabled."

Reacting to the development, Congress spokesperson Abhishek Manu Singhvi said he could not confirm or deny such a report "but after 18 odd years, the nation as a whole generally knows what is happening".

"The nation as a whole knows the proximity of the structure where these supposedly senior functionaries of the political parties were standing, many of them joyous and clapping... The nation also knows rath yatras and organised moments and I don't think people of this country can be cheated as fools and those who fool people are bigger fools.

"I think they stand condemned on the bar of public opinion almost 18 years ago. The Liberhan committee will give us only little bit details but not reversely take away cheap political game played by BJP," he said.