Muslim Board unhappy about ‘clean chit’ to Narsimha Rao

The All India Muslim Personal Law Board has taken a strong exception to the “clean chit” given to then Prime Minister P. V. Narsimha Rao in the Liberhan Commission report on the Babri Masjid demolition and questioned the “unfortunate” observations made in the document on Muslim organisations.

A senior member of the Board, Maulana Khalid Rashid Firnagimahal, said that giving a “clean chit” to Rao is a “mockery of sorts”.

He has also taken exception to certain observations made by the Commission against the Muslim organisations, as also the Board, terming them as “unfortunate“.

“The report states that the Board and Muslim organisations did not put forth their stand on the Babri mosque and did little for the rehabilitation of the riot victims,” Firangimahal said adding that the Commission should instead “have commended us for stopping the Muslim people from taking to the streets which could have aggravated the situation.

“By controlling the Muslim masses, an effort was made to keep the atmosphere of fear under check,” he said, adding that several meetings were held all over the country to make them understand the situation.

He said though rehabilitation is the responsibility of the government, “we went all out to help not just the Muslims but also the Hindus who had become victim of the riots“.

Firangimahal said it is “strange” why the report is silent on the quantum of punishment for those responsible for the “killing of 2000 people during the post-Babri riots”.

The Muslim leader, who is also Lucknow’s Naib Imam , said that he has in his “ khudba ” (religious discourse) before the Bakr-id prayers today, he apprised the community of the report and the situation arising out of it.