Subramanian Swamy lashes out at Babri acquittal critics; poses historical counter-argument

A special court on Wednesday acquitted all 32 accused including BJP veterans L K Advani, M M Joshi and Uma Bharti of involvement in the destruction of Babri Masjid 28 years ago. Reacting to this senior BJP leader and Rajya Sabha MP Subramanian Swamy said the people acquitted did not incite the 'kar sevaks' and "nor ever proof was produced."

'Nor ever proof was produced'

Taking to Twitter, Dr Swamy said, "Nor they incited the kar sevaks nor ever proof was produced nor the so-called masjid was one since 1935, and in fact was a temple since 1949 with idols of Rama, Sita, Lakshman, Hanuman, 100s of monkeys swing from tree to tree, and a cow paced up and down."

He slammed those who were criticising the court and said that the recourse of going to a higher court was always available to them. He said that all the people acquitted were at a distance from the demolition site and nobody has said that they received orders from Advani or others. 

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In a 2,300-page judgment, the CBI court said there was no conclusive evidence against the accused of being part of any conspiracy to bring down the disputed structure in Ayodhya. Delivering the verdict on the day of his retirement, special Judge S K Yadav did not accept video cassettes as evidence. He said the CBI never sent them to forensic laboratories to ascertain their veracity.

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'We welcomed verdict by chanting Jai Shri Ram'

Twenty-six of the 32 accused were present in the Lucknow court when the judge read out the operative portion of the verdict, an exercise which took five minutes. Former deputy Prime Minister L K Advani, the then Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Kalyan Singh, former Union ministers Murli Manohar Joshi and Uma Bharti, Ram Janmaboomi Teerth Kshetra Trust president  Nritya Gopal Das and Shiv Sena leader Satish Pradhan had sought exemptions from personal appearance.

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As the judge pronounced them not guilty, some of the accused chanted "Jai Shri Ram" in the court. As did Advani, a key figure in the Ram temple movement, at his home. "It is a very important decision and a matter of happiness for us. When we heard the news of the court's order, we welcomed it by chanting Jai Shri Ram," he said in a video message.

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