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Ayodhya movement intended to demolish Babri mosque: V P Singh

Former prime minister V P Singh on Thursday accused the Bharatiya Janata Party and the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh-Vishwa Hindu Parishad combine of leading the Ram temple movement with the sole intention of demolishing the disputed structure in Ayodhya.

He also asserted that failure on the part of the P V Narasimha Rao government to take normal administrative precautions led to its demolition.

"The massive building up of psyche by the RSS-VHP combine and BJP leaders with a clear aim of demolishing the Babri Masjid led to its demolition," Singh told the Liberhan Commission, probing the demolition of the disputed structure at Ayodhya on December 6,1992.

Deposing as a witness for the third time, he said the Narasimha Rao government's "undue reliance" on BJP's assurances and not becoming wiser from the events of 1990, when kar sevaks had sneaked into the disputed area, had led to the incident.

"In fact, Rao should have learnt from my experience. I was assured by the BJP that the temple was not on the agenda. And when the same assurances were given to him, he should have remembered at least my experience," Singh said, adding that "normal administrative precautions were not taken".

When asked by the commission counsel Anupam Gupta about the kar seva of July 1992, the former prime minister said the "government should have become wiser from that very year. However, it continued to trust the BJP and VHP".

PTI

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