The alleged leakage of the Liberhans Commission report on the demolition of the disputed structure at Ayodhya today rocked both Houses of Parliament. Both the Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha were adjourned repeatedly following uproar on the issue with the opposition demanding the immediate tabling of the report. On its part, the government assured both the Houses that the report along with the Action Taken Report (ATR) will be tabled during the current session of the Parliament. Responding to the opposition demand for tabling of the report in the Lok Sabha, the Home Minister, Mr. P. Chidambaram strongly denied that the report has been leaked to media by any one in his ministry. He also refused to comment on the contents of the alleged leakage. Explaining the delay in presenting the report, the Home Minister said that 17 volume report has to be translated along with the Action Taken Report into Hindi. The trouble started right from the moment the houses met for the day. In the Lok Sabha, the members, led by the Leader of the Opposition, Mr. L K Advani, demanded immediate tabling of the report stating that the alleged leakage is a breach of the privilege of the House. Mr. Advani said that he was shocked that the report mentioned that the Commission, he had stated that the Commission had indicted senior BJP leaders, including the former Prime Minister, Mr. Atal Bihari Vajpayee. Mr. Advani said that while deposing before the Commission, he had stated that the day the disputed structure demolished was the saddest day of his life. Mr. Advani, However, said that he was proud of the Ayodhya movement and wants a grand temple to be built at the site.<br/><br/>In the Rajya Sabha also, opposition leaders from various parties, demanded the immediate tabling of the report. They wanted the alleged leakage of the report to be inquired into. Opposition members were not satisfied with the government's response on the issue and both the Houses were adjourned for the day with the agitating opposition persisting with its demand.<br/><br/>Meanwhile, BJP has accused the government of selectively leaking Liberhan Commission report. Speaking to media in New Delhi, the BJP leader, Ms. Sushma Swaraj said that it was done in a planned manner with certain motives. She alleged that the government was not happy with the opposition’s unity over the sugarcane price issue and it felt that this was one issue which could divide the opposition. Ms. Swaraj said that this was also done to divert the attention from other pressing issues like corruption and to take mileage in the Jharkhand polls. She said that by merely saying that the leak was unfortunate the government cannot get away from its responsibility and it will have to explain clearly as to how the report was leaked. In a reply to a question, she said that although the report has to be tabled both in Hindi and English, but if the Presiding Officers give assurance that the Hindi translation of the report will be available within a specified period, then they will not mind the tabling of the English version of the report first. In reply to another question as to what strategy would be adopted for tomorrow in Parliament on the issue, Ms. Swaraj said that it will be decided tomorrow at the party’s Parliamentary Board meeting.<br/><br/>The Congress on the other hand accused the opposition of not allowing the Parliament to function smoothly for three days. The party spokesman, Mr. Manish Tiwari said that while the opposition is well within its rights to raise the issues it considers important but it should do so in a proper constitutional way. Describing the alleged leak as a serious matter, Mr. Tiwari said that the government should take cognisance of this. He also wanted the report to be tabled in Parliament as soon as possible.<br/><br/>Upset over the leakage of his report on Babri Masjid demolition, Justice (retired) Manmohan Singh Liberhan today said he is not a characterless person who will hand it over to the media. Talking to reporters in Chandigarh, he refused to make any comments on the report, saying it is the job of the media to find out as to how the report got leaked. A newspaper report claimed that the one-man Liberhan Commission, which probed the December 6, 1992 demolition, had indicted former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee, Leader of Opposition L K Advani and BJP leader Murli Manohar Joshi among others for the incident.
News On AIR | November 23, 2009 5:58 PM
Liberhan Commission report Leakage rocks Parliament