New Delhi:
It's up to Atal Behari Vajpayee again to rescue the BJP from a new crisis.
The party says the Liberhan Report cannot be considered credible because it includes the former prime minister among 68 people culpable of leading the country to the brink of communal discord. But the same commission that indicts him did not ever serve him a notice, asking him to appear before it, points out the BJP, hoping that this will provide it with the loophole to challenge the report.
The Liberhan Commission has indicted the BJP's top rung for the demolition of the Babri Masjid. In particular, it slams Kalyan Singh, then the BJP chief minister of UP, for paralyzing his administration into "ineffectiveness" till the demolition was complete. Singh has rejected those charges, but describes December 6, 1992, the day the Masjid was demolished, as "the proudest day of my life." He has also said he has no remorse or regrets over the demolition.
The BJP is also trying to discredit the Liberhan Report by trying to focus on why the report was leaked to the press. NDTV had access to the document before it was tabled in Parliament. The BJP has blamed the Home Minister, P Chidambaram, for leaking the document. NDTV maintains that it did not get the report from the Home Ministry and it will not reveal its sources.
The Home Minister has told Parliament that his ministry is not responsible for the leak.