Ayodhya panel summons RSS chief, Basu

By J. Venkatesan

NEW DELHI, DEC. 12. Concerned at the recent utterances of the RSS chief, Mr. K. S. Sudarshan, that the demolition of the Babri Masjid in Ayodhya on December 6, 1992 was caused by a bomb blast, the Justice Liberhan Commission today summoned him to adduce evidence as a witness on December 20.

(At a Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh meeting in Thiruvananthapuram on Friday, Mr. Sudarshan said the structure came down because somebody strategically placed explosives inside the masjid. He also said the ``kitchen cabinet'' of the then Prime Minister, Mr. P.V. Narasimha Rao, had a clear hand in the demolition).

The Commission, probing the conspiracy angle in the demolition of the disputed structure, also issued summons to Mr. Jyoti Basu, former West Bengal Chief Minister, to adduce evidence on January 29.

The Commission wanted to examine Mr. Basu for stating that he had passed on to the Prime Minister, Mr. A.B. Vajpayee, audio-tapes containing the speech of Mr. Kalyan Singh, former Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister, at a Sadhu Samaj meeting in Calcutta.

Summons were also issued to Ms. Nirmala Deshpande, former Rajya Sabha member, to appear before the Commission on January 30, 2001 relating to a newspaper interview on the demolition and two journalists, Mr. Sanjay Kaw and Ms. Ruchira Gupta, said to be present at the site when the structure was demolished, for adducing evidence on February 7 and 8.

All the witnesses were ordered to bring all documents and materials in their possession relating to the demolition.

The Sports Minister, Ms. Uma Bharti, who could not make her deposition today, was asked to appear on December 19.

The Commission also re-scheduled the appearances of the Home Minister, Mr. L.K. Advani, to January 22 and 23 (instead of December 29); the HRD Minister, Dr. Murli Manohar Joshi, to January 15 and 16 (instead of December 19 and 20). Mr. Narasimha Rao will be examined as scheduled on December 26 and 27.

The Commission will write to editors of all national and vernacular newspapers requesting information published by them pertaining to the incident. Information would also be sought from the police, State and Central intelligence agencies relating to the movement of karsevaks during the relevant period.

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