JOIN USThe Central government may not have interfered in the CBI’s plea against L K Advani and others in Supreme Court but the BJP defended them as they face criminal conspiracy charges in the Babri mosque demolition case.
Union law minister Ravi Shankar Prasad defended party leaders like L K Advani, Murli Manohar Joshi, Uma Bharti and Vinay Katiyar, who will now have to face probe for being party to a criminal conspiracy to demolish the Babri mosque on December 6, 1992. Kalyan Singh, however, has got temporary relief owing to immunity he enjoys as Rajasthan governor.
“The party is sure of innocence of its leaders. But, law will take its own course," said Prasad, who was earlier lawyer of Lord Ram in the case.
Hours after Wednesday's SC verdict, union minister Arun Jaitley had ruled out resignation of his ministerial colleague Uma Bharti. The saffron-clad minister herself was rather “proud” and “unapologetic” about her role in the Ramjanambhoomi movement. But Advani and Joshi refused to react to the apex court turning down their plea against CBI's stand for reviving criminal conspiracy charges against all the accused in the case.
Late in the evening, Joshi drove down to meet Advani at the latter's residence to discuss the fallout of the court's order. Party sources said the CBI could not have changed its stand taken in 2011 before the Rae Bareli court for reviving conspiracy charges against all the accused. Now there will be joint trial in Lucknow of karsevaks and the leaders.
Even at the BJP's core group meeting with Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday evening, there was broad consensus that the accused leaders should face trial and get acquitted, said party sources.
A general secretary of the BJP said the senior leaders can still seek legal remedy against SC's order, which allows the CBI to start probe to prove that the accused were part of a conspiracy hatched to bring down the disputed structure more than two decades ago.
BJP leader Vinay Katiyar, meanwhile, added fuel to fire by seemingly seconding RJD leader Lalu Yadav's statement that the SC verdict was part of Modi's conspiracy to remove Advani from the Presidential race.
Uma calls for consensus
Union water resources minister Uma Bharti, who will now have to face criminal conspiracy probe in Babri mosque demolition case, on Thursday said there was no need for another Ram temple movement as the issue of birth place of Lord Ram has been settled, DHNS reports from New Delhi.
“The only matter that remains is to build a grand temple there,” she said in an interview to a television channel.