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Journalism of Courage
The demolition of Babri Masjid returned to rock Parliament on the eve of its 10th anniversary today. Opposition MPs staged a sit-in inside the House complex and later disrupted proceedings in Lok Sabha.
The Lok Sabha session was held up for 15 minutes when Samajwadi Party members took their protest to the well of the House. The perpetrators of the masjid’s demolition had not been punished after all these years, they said.
While other sections of the Opposition did not join the SP members in the well, the Congress and Left parties attacked the Sangh Parivar for the demolition from their seats. Soon, BJP members too started moving towards the well.
Speaker Manohar Joshi’s repeated appeals for order fell on deaf ears for some time. The SP MPs later went back to their seats. P.R. Dasmunshi of the Congress made it clear that the Opposition had no intention to stall the proceedings and only wanted to raise the issue.
CPI(M) veteran Somnath Chatterjee said that December 6 was an ‘‘unfortunate day’’ in the country’s history. The issue figured again during Zero Hour when G.S. Banatwalla of the Muslim League and Ram Vilas Paswan of the LJP attacked the government amid stiff resistance from the BJP.
Banatwalla said the attack on Babri Masjid was an act of terrorism and regretted that no action had been taken against the culprits.
Paswan said that it was unfortunate that Ambedkar’s death anniversary unfortunately coincided with the Babri demolition. He called for steps to maintain communal harmony all over the country tomorrow.
Chandrakant Khaire of the Shiv Sena defended the demolition, saying no mosque existed on the site. ‘‘Come what may the Ram temple will be built there,’’ he asserted.
Earlier, the Opposition staged a sit-in in front of the Gandhi statue, demanding the ouster of those responsible for the demolition from the Government.
Congress, Samajwadi Party, RJD and Left MPs raised slogans against the BJP and the Sangh Parivar and charged them with creating communal tension. December 6, they said, will be observed as a day of ‘‘national solidarity’’. The MPs pledged to maintain amity and harmony among the people and fight attempts to divide the country on communal lines.
