By Mumtaz Alam Falahi, TwoCircles.net,
New Delhi: On the eve of 17th anniversary of Babri Masjid demolition, All India Milli Council took out a candle march on the Parliament Street today to demand strong action against the culprits of the demolition in the light of the Liberhan Commission Report.
Milli Council General Secretary Dr Manzoor Alam, while addressing the marchers, demanded a new strong, compact and to-the-point Action Taken Report (ATR) as the old one the Congress-led UPA Government presented while tabling the commission report last week was “a hurriedly prepared document and the real action is yet to come.”
The 13-page memorandum of ATR “displays lack of political will to bring those responsible to justice. The nation wants to know what action the Central Government is going to take. In the past too, those indicted by different commissions for communal riots have gone scot-free as in the case of Srikrishna Commission Report,” Dr Alam said. He warned the Congress government that if it did not understand the language of peace protest, the community will dethrone it in the next election.
The Liberhan Commission Report was submitted to the Prime Minister on June 30, 2009 but it was tabled in the Parliament on November 24, a day after some parts of the report were leaked to the media. The Lok Sabha will debate the report on December 7-8.
Other prominent persons who addressed the rally today included Mujtaba Farooq, political affairs secretary, Jamaat-e-Islami Hind, Naved Hamid, Member, National Integration Council and Mauji Khan, secretary, Milli Council.
Statement
The Liberhan Commission Inquiry Report on the demolition of the Babri Masjid, submitted to Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh on June 30, 2009, and tabled before the Parliament on November 24, 2009, goes for debate in Lok Sabha on December 7-8 and in Rajya Sabha on December 9-10, 2009. Therefore, we the citizens of India belonging to various social and human rights groups and organizations have gathered today to bring out a candle march from Jantar Mantar Road to Parliament Street in memory of the historic mosque known as Babri Masjid 17 years after its demolition and innocent lives as well as private and public properties worth trillions of rupees killed and destroyed during the naked dance of fascism and communalism in its aftermath, and demand for immediate action on the Report.
It is to point out that a 13-page Memorandum of action taken on the 1029-page Liberhan Report has also along with been released. The memorandum, however, seems to be apparently a hurriedly prepared document and the real action is yet to come. It displays lack of political will to bring those responsible to justice. The nation wants to know what action the Central Government is going to take. In the past too, those indicted by different commissions for communal riots have gone scot-free as in the case of Sri Krishna Commission Report.
However, it is hoped that a strong, compact and to the point Action Taken Report (ATR) would come at the end of the discussion in both Houses of the Parliament. We should keep in view that the commission has already taken all of 17 years and some 4,000 sittings over 48 extensions to complete the 1029-page report, causing justice delayed. Therefore, the present Central Government should ensure that there must not be further delay in any case so that justice is not denied.
The Report has rightly placed individual culpability for the demolition on a total of 68 persons, the bulk of them drawn from the Sangh Parivar. Therefore, it is high time that charges should be filed and cases registered against them. The Central Government must act against the Sangh Parivar organizations and check its accounts being used for nefarious designs.
As is well known, there have been gang rapes and loss of innocent lives, and private and public properties in the naked drama of communal elements at different places, including Surat. Criminal cases must be initiated against these elements, and if already initiated, they must be expedited and those found guilty must be punished. Stern action must be taken against the organizations found involved in the demolition of Babri Masjid by the Liberhan Commission.
The real test of the UPA Government’s sincerity would be if it brings about a law providing for exemplary punishment for all those who disturb communal harmony for gaining power. The Government should also ask the court to expedite the hearings in the 1949 Babri Masjid title case because the entire matter is directly related to it. The delay in its finalization led to the unlocking of Babri Masjid on February 1, 1986 and its demolition on December 6, 1992 followed by a chain of communal riots in different parts of the country. It is pity that the tale-telling Sri Krishna Commission Report came but no action was done based upon it.
The kith and kin of those killed in the aftermath of the demolition of Babri Masjid need the same treatment applied in the case of the 1984 anti-Sikh riots so far as their compensation and rehabilitation is concerned.
A serious shortcoming in the Liberhan Report is its silence on the role of former Prime Minister Narasimha Rao who did nothing to stop the efforts to raze the historic Babri Masjid to ground. It is also high time that the ruling Congress-led UPA unambiguously declare to distance itself from the silent role of Rao and reiterate its regret over the tragedy.
We appeal to the secular, justice-loving and peace-loving people and organizations of the country to get united and confront and isolate the communal forces active under the umbrella of Sangh Parivar and identified for its hateful role in the demolition of Babri Masjid and its aftermath by the Liberhan Commission.
We urge the Election Commission of India to initiate action against the Hindutva political organizations, including BJP and Shiv Sena.
——— DR B.R.Ambedkar Sewa Dal, All India New Democracy, Inssan Dost Council, Samajik Nayay Morcha,SACM, Delhi Catholic Church, Haryana Gurudwara Sikh Committee, Peoples Movement of India, Budh Upsak Sangh, All India Jamate Saifia, Jamaat e Islami Hind, Jamiat Ahle Hadith, Action AID,Justice Party, All India Milli Council, and others