The Liberhan Commission report on the circumstances leading to the Babri Masjid demolition has reportedly gone soft on BJP leader L.K. Advani but taken a stern view of the role of the then Narasimha Rao government at the Centre.
Sources told Headlines Today that the report has refrained from directly blaming Advani for the 1992 demolition of the Babri Masjid in Ayodhya. It has blamed the Rao government for not doing enough to prevent the demolition.
Sources said the report has accused the BJP’s Vinay Katiyar and Murli Manohar Joshi and then BJP leader Uma Bharti of inciting the crowds gathered at the disputed site.
The commission submitted its report to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Tuesday, 17 years after it was set up. The commission, which got 48 extensions, submitted the report to Singh in the presence of Home Minister P. Chidambaram.
During the extended proceedings spread over 400 sittings, the commission recorded the statements of among others Advani, Joshi and then Uttar Pradesh chief minister Kalyan Singh.
Set up within 10 days of the demolition of the mosque on December 6, 1992, which triggered widespread communal violence leading to heavy loss of lives, the panel has become the country’s longest serving commission of inquiry.
The commission was to submit its report by March 16, 1993 but sought repeated extensions to complete its probe. The last three-month extension was given in March this year.
The panel was one of the costliest commissions, having spent nearly Rs 8 crore. The bulk of the amount was spent on the salaries and perks of the supporting staff.
Source: http://indiatoday.intoday.in/site/Story/49323/104/Liberhan+Commission+submits+report.html