Babri Masjid case: Court to frame charges against Advani, Uma , Joshi & others
LUCKNOW : Veteran BJP leaders L.K. Advani and Murli Manohar Joshi, and Union Minister Uma Bharti, appeared before a special CBI court here on Tuesday in the Babri Masjid demolition case.
The CBI court dismisses the discharge plea filed by BJP leaders. The court will now frame charges against Mr. Advani, Dr. Joshi, Ms. Bharti and others. The details will be out soon.
Vinay Katiyar, an accused in the case, called for action against Mulayam Singh for ordering the firing on karsevaks. Earlier in the day, BJP leader Sakshi Mahraj spoke to reporters. Commenting on the demolition of the mosque, Mahraj said: “It is punya. I did not commit any crime.” He also added that “no force can stop the construction of temple.”
Before entering the court, BJP leader Sakshi Mahraj emphasised on “taking a decision to construct Ram Mandir. “There has been decision (to build temple) since 1992. Many people died in course of the case. Justice should be done quickly. And the same hurry should be shown in construction of a Ram Mandir,” he said
Senior Bharatiya Janata Party leaders LK Advani, Murli Manohar Joshi and Union Minister Uma Bharti arrived at a special CBI court in Lucknow on Tuesday where charges are to be framed against them for their alleged role in the 1992 Babri Masjid demolition case. Last week, counsel for the accused had moved a plea in the court to exempt Advani, Joshi, and Bharti from personal appearance, but it was turned down.
CBI Special Court grants bail to BJP leader LK Advani (89), Murli Manohar Joshi (83), Union Minister Uma Bharti (58), and others on personal bond of Rs 50,000 each. THer CBI court also grants bail to BJP leader Vinay Katiyar and one-time Hindutva firebrand Sadhvi Ritambara also present themselves before the court in the politically sensitive case.
BJP stalwarts LK Advani, MM Joshi, Uma Bharti reach special CBI court in Lucknow in connection with Babri Masjid demolition case.Senior Hindutva leader Ram Vilas Vedanti, an accused in the case, says that he was among those who had pulled down the structure in Ayodhya. “I was one of those who had pulled down the dome of the disputed structure in Ayodhya,” Vedanti, who is in Lucknow to appear before the special court in the Ayodhya case, tells reporters.
BJP MP Sakshi Maharaj says “no power on Earth” could stop the construction of a Ram temple in Ayodhya. The Babri Masjid versus Ram temple debate should be dropped now, he said, claiming that those who had opposed the construction of the temple were now Ram bhakts.The UP Chief Minister holds a meeting with Advani and other senior leaders.Yogi was waiting at the guest house for Advani along with other state leaders.
The UP CM welcomes Advani with a bouquet of flowers as the former deputy prime minister stops at the VVIP guest house before leaving for the special court.Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath meets senior BJP leader LK Advani who is in Lucknow to appear before a special CBI court in connection with a case relating to the 1992 demolition of the Babri Masjid in Ayodhya.
Bharti rejects the charges of the opposition for conspiring in the matter. “It was an open protest, as it was during the time of emergency. What conspiracy was there in it I don’t know,” she adds.Union Minister Uma Bharti says she is not a ‘criminal’. “It is the matter of God and in such a case I can only have expectations from him. Since I have taken part in it with devotion, I don’t consider myself as a criminal.”
Katiyar trains his guns on Samajwadi Party Patriarch Mulayam Singh Yadav, saying that the case should have been filed against him as he has already accept his crimes. “Nobody destroyed the Masjid, Mulayam Singh started the firing, and he himself has accepted that 16 people were killed. He murdered them, he should be booked for it. Babri Masjid was not there, the place belongs to the Ram temple and even the High Court has passed the order,” he says. BJP leader Vinay Katiyar assures that he will follow the rulings. “I don’t want to say anything on this, court has to take the decision and we will follow it.
Charges would also be framed against Sadhwi Ritambhara, Bharatiya Janata Party MP Vinay Katiyar and Vishwa Hindu Parishad leader Vishnu Hari Dalmia. Charges against six others accused in the matter – Mahant Ram Vilas Vedanti, Mahant Nritya Gopal Das, Baikunth Lal Sharma, Dharm Das, Champat Rai Bansal and Shiv Sena’s Satish Pradhan, who were granted bail, will also be framed today.
Last week, counsel for the accused had moved a plea in the court to exempt Advani, Joshi, and Bharti from personal appearance, but it was turned down.
BJP leader Vinay Katiyar and one-time Hindutva firebrand Sadhvi Ritambara also present themselves before the court in the politically sensitive case. Union Minister M Venkaiah Naidu exudes confidence that the senior BJP leaders will come out unscathed in the CBI court hearing today.
Senior Hindutva leader Ram Vilas Vedanti, an accused in the case, says that he was among those who had pulled down the structure in Ayodhya. “I was one of those who had pulled down the dome of the disputed structure in Ayodhya,” Vedanti, who is in Lucknow to appear before the special court in the Ayodhya case, tells reporters.
BJP MP Sakshi Maharaj says “no power on Earth” could stop the construction of a Ram temple in Ayodhya. The Babri Masjid versus Ram temple debate should be dropped now, he said, claiming that those who had opposed the construction of the temple were now Ram bhakts.
Bharti rejects the charges of the opposition for conspiring in the matter. “It was an open protest, as it was during the time of emergency. What conspiracy was there in it I don’t know,” she adds. Union Minister Uma Bharti says she is not a ‘criminal’. “It is the matter of God and in such a case I can only have expectations from him. Since I have taken part in it with devotion, I don’t consider myself as a criminal.”
Katiyar trains his guns on Samajwadi Party Patriarch Mulayam Singh Yadav, saying that the case should have been filed against him as he has already accept his crimes. “Nobody destroyed the Masjid, Mulayam Singh started the firing, and he himself has accepted that 16 people were killed. He murdered them, he should be booked for it. Babri Masjid was not there, the place belongs to the Ram temple and even the High Court has passed the order,” he says.
The apex court had in April used its extraordinary constitutional powers under Article 142 to revive the criminal charges against the BJP leaders. The court also transferred the Rae Bareli case in the demolition and clubbed it with the Lucknow case pending before a CBI Special Court.
While the case in Rae Bareli accuses Mr. Advani, Mr. Joshi, Ms. Bharti and other BJP and Sangh Parivar leaders of giving provocative speeches, the case in Lucknow is against “lakhs of unknown kar sevaks” and deals with the actual act of demolition of the mosque, and violence.The Supreme Court, however, exempted Rajasthan Governor Kalyan Singh, who was the Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister at the time of the incident, from facing trial as of now.The trial, on a day-to-day basis, is to be completed in two years, the apex court ordered.
