BJP has complained to the Election Commission against Cobrapost Babri sting
The BJP has complained to the Election Commission against a sting operation by investigative portal Cobrapost on the 1992 Babri Mosque demolition and said its telecast should be barred, with the general election three days away.
Cobrapost has said that its undercover investigation proves the mosque razing in Ayodhya, Uttar Pradesh, was planned. It also claims that the Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP), an affiliate of the BJP's ideological mentor Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), and the Shiv Sena trained their cadre for the demolition.
NDTV cannot independently verify the authenticity of the sting video provided by Cobrapost.
"It is not Cobrapost, it is Congress post," said senior BJP leader Ravi Shankar Prasad. "Has Cobrapost done any sting of a big Congress leader? Or on coalgate, Commonwealth Games, Railways or AgustaWestland?"
The party said the sting was a diabolical conspiracy to vitiate the atmosphere ahead of the polls that begin on Monday.
Congress leader Meem Afzal countered, "This is an attempt by the BJP to polarize the election atmosphere, to reopen wounds."
The demolition of the 16th century mosque on December 6, 1992, by Hindu activists led to riots in many parts of the country and cast a long shadow on Indian politics.
Cobrapost says its Associate Editor K Ashish posed as an author and interviewed 23 key players of the time, to arrive at the conclusion that the mosque razing was plotted by the various groups linked to the RSS, in what is referred to as the "Sangh Parivar", and the Shiv Sena, the BJP's oldest ally.
The website claims then prime minister PV Narasimha Rao of the Congress and Kalyan Singh, who was heading the BJP government in Uttar Pradesh, knew of the plot.
For the demolition, the website claims, a suicide squad of trained RSS workers was formed and VHP, RSS and Shiv Sena activists were trained in Gujarat and Madhya Pradesh.
"The Shiv Sena planned to use dynamite if other methods to raze Babri failed," Cobrapost claims.
The RSS slammed the sting. "Everyone should ignore this. Every sting has to be taken with a pinch of salt. The timing suggests they want to disrupt peace," said Sangh spokesperson Ram Madhav.