Vajpayee a pseudo-moderate: Babri report

New Delhi, Nov 24 : The Justice Liberhan report on the Babri Masjid demolition has termed former Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee as a 'pseudo-moderate', media reports said on Tuesday.

Among the 68 people indicted in the report are Bal Thackeray, Pramod Mahajan, Uma Bharati, L K Advani and Kalyan Singh, apart from Vajpayee.

Stating Murli Manohar Joshi and L K Advani as the face of the RSS, the report said it was they who virtually ran the Uttar Pradesh government when Kalyan Singh's government was in power.

The events were not unplanned and unforeseen, the report observed and held three BJP leaders guilty of the conspiracy.

However, Kalyan Singh, who said he had no regrets regarding what transpired on December 6, 1992, also said, "What happened on December 6, 1992 was a result of the outburst of lakhs of Hindus whose feelings had been oppressed for hundreds of years."

When questioned if he could have stopped the masjid's demolition, he said, "I had the choice of either letting the police fire and kill lakhs of Kar Sevaks or let the structure be demolished."

"I chose not to kill the Kar Sevaks and the structure went down," he added.

The indicted Uma Bharati said, "I will take all steps to defend my position."

According to the report, the Babri Masjid demolition was a result of intricate plans and crores were spent on these plans. Money for this was raised through organizations of the Sangh Parivar.

The RSS intended to express moderation and mobilise people. The BJP joined hands with them to mobilise the masses.

The report, however, gives a clean chit to the Narasimha Rao government. It mentions that the Kalyan Singh government lied to both the high court and the Supreme Court.

The ATR, also made public on Tuesday, mentions a new law to tackle communal violence. It also says all cases related to the Babri Masjid demolition will be expedited. It also asks all state governments to expediate all cases relating to communcal violence.

Reacting to the report, the Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) has said the Babri Masjid demolition was not a conspiracy.

--IBNS