Chief Minister V.S. Achuthanandan demanded on Wednesday that the Central government should show the boldness to prosecute those who played various roles in the demolition of the Babri Masjid.
Talking to the media after a meeting of the Cabinet, the Chief Minister said that by demolishing the masjid, the Sangh Parivar had struck at the heart of India, creating communal divisions and causing the death of hundreds of people. Those who had given political and spiritual leadership for the demolition such as L.K. Advani, Atal Bihari Vajpayee and Murli Manohar Joshi had done a greater sin than those who resorted to murders over the issue.
Mr. Achuthanandan said the Centre should be taking action to prevent such incidents in future. It cannot dodge responsibility by merely placing the report of the Liberhan Enquiry Commission before the Parliament.
He maintained that the Congress and the then Prime Minister P.V. Narasimha Rao had indirectly aided the demolition of the masjid. The Prime Minister Manmohan Singh was then the Finance Minister in Mr. Rao’s Cabinet. That government had ignored warnings from the Intelligence Bureau and leaders such as V.P. Singh and Harkishan Singh Surjeet. So, the Congress leadership should confess to their guilt.
Replying to questions, the Chief Minister said the government had been getting additional reports from its officials on the condition of the Mullaperiyar dam. It would examine how those reports could be used in the case before the Supreme Court.
Mr. Achuthanandan said that Kerala was facing price rise because of destruction of crops, especially vegetables, in floods in Tamil Nadu.
The government had been trying to keep down the prices.
He said that the Dubai-based promoters of the Smart City project were not coming forward to implement the project because they had been hit by the global economic crisis. So, they were raising disputes over matters extraneous to their agreement with the government. The government was trying to sort out matters amicably. In any case, the government would go ahead with the project. If the present promoters were reluctant to take up the project, others would be found to carry out the project.
