UP Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath greeted LK Advani with flowers ahead of hearing in Babri case
Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath greeted LK Advani with flowers as the BJP patriarch arrived at a posh Lucknow guest house, before appearing in a city court where charges will be framed against him in the Babri Masjid demolition case. The Chief Minister was waiting at the guest house to welcome the 89-year-old leader.
Mr Advani will appear in court, the second time in 25 years, along with his party colleagues Murli Manohar Joshi and union minister Uma Bharti. The Chief Minister met them at the VVIP guest house in central Lucknow, intended as a signal of the BJP's support for its leaders, accused by the Central Bureau of Investigation of criminal conspiracy in the demolition of the 16th century Babri Mosque in December 1992.
In Delhi, union minister M Venkaiah Naidu said, "this is a legal process. Our leaders are innocent and will come out unscathed."
"There was no conspiracy. It was an open movement like it happened during Emergency...I don't consider myself a criminal," Uma Bharti, 58, said as she arrived in Lucknow today, stating that she had "come because I respect the court."
The demolition of the Babri Masjid had followed a nationwide movement led by Mr Advani and others for a Ram temple at the site where the mosque was constructed by the Mughals. Many Hindus believe that the mosque was built over the birthplace of Lord Ram and they want a temple to be built there.
Yogi Adityanath, 46, has for many years been considered a Hindutva symbol of the BJP and even though the party has in recent years pushed the temple agenda to the backburner, his poll campaigns have held the promise of the construction of a Ram temple in Ayodhya.
Mahant Avaidyanath, the chief minister's mentor and head priest before him of the Gorakhnath temple in UP's Gorakhpur, was one of the leaders accused along with Mr Advani and others of making provocative speeches from a platform near the mosque before it was pulled down by karsevaks, or right-wing volunteers.
With a BJP government at the centre and now in the state under Yogi Adityanath after the massive BJP sweep of the Uttar Pradesh assembly elections in March this year, the party is under pressure to come good on its promise of ensuring that the temple is built.
The razing of the Babri Masjid incited nationwide riots between Hindus and Muslims and around 2,000 people were killed.
The Supreme Court had last month ordered the prosecution of Mr Advani, 89, Mr Joshi, 83, and Ms Bharti and other people accused in the case and said a day-to-day trial must be conducted and concluded within two years. It also transferred the trial of a separate hate speech case from Rae Bareli to the special court in Lucknow for a joint trial with the main demolition case.
Mr Advani, former Deputy Prime Minister, had once before attended a court hearing in the case in Rae Bareli many years ago. A special CBI court last week said that the leaders would not be allowed to ask for an exemption from appearing in person.