WHEN THE Babri Masjid was demolished on December 6, 1992, Parliament was in Winter Session. The development saw heated exchanges in the House, marked by interruptions and adjournments, culminating with a resolution by Parliament against the demolition and a call for harmony. BJP leader L K Advani, who was present when the Babri Masjid was demolished and was arrested, bore the brunt of attacks from the Congress and other regional parties. However, the regional parties and the Left were as critical of the Congress, which was in power at the Centre, accusing it of "allowing" the structure to be demolished and demanding the resignation of then Prime Minister P V Narasimha Rao. After three days of disruptions and debates on the situation in the country post-demolition, the Speaker adjourned the House till December 16 for MPs to visit their constituencies with riots on at many places. When the Lok Sabha met on December 16, the BJP had its response ready. The party demanded that Advani be brought to the House from jail to participate in the debate and said the dismissal of BJP state governments after the demolition was “murder of democracy”. Eventually, the House passed a resolution condemning the demolition, before being adjourned on the evening of December 16. The day after On December 7, 1992, the Lok Sabha began on a stormy note. “Mr Speaker, we want a ban on the Vishwa Hindu Parishad. Mr Advani has no right to sit in this House,” Congress leader Digvijaya Singh, then the MP from Raigarh, said as soon as the House met at 11 am. P C Thomas of the Kerala Congress (M) called for a ban on the BJP, and Ram Vilas Paswan, who was then in the Janata Dal, called for Advani’s arrest. The BJP leader was blamed for instigating the emotions leading up to the demolition through his Rath Yatra of 1990, though after the structure fell, he claimed "regret" for having failed to control the crowd that pulled it down. Janata Dal MP from Vikramganj Ram Prasad Singh attacked the Narasimha Rao government, saying, “The Home Minister should give his resignation. The Congress was involved in it. This government has completely failed. The Prime Minister should resign." The parties that attacked the Congress pointed out that while Central forces were present at the site, they had failed to act. Amid the din, the House was adjourned at 11.20 am. As soon as it reassembled at 2 pm, Vadde Sobhanadreeswara Rao, the Telugu Desam Party (TDP) MP from Vijayawada, attacked the Congress government. When CPI (M) MP Nirmal Kanti Chatterjee demanded Rao’s resignation, Digvijaya Singh intervened and said the PM would make a statement. He added that the BJP had proved it was a “communal” party that was against the Constitution and had no right to be in the House. He accused the party of having misled the Supreme Court, the Prime Minister and the country, referring to the assurance by the party that it would not hurt the mosque. Interruptions continued even as Lok Sabha Speaker Shivraj Patil asked members to move back to their seats, even offering to move a resolution as Speaker to condemn the demolition. He said Rao might make a statement in the House or outside, but the House must maintain order to collectively condemn the demolition. In response, Chandra Shekhar, who was a Janata Party MP, snapped, “Have you got moral authority to say anything? You are giving us a lesson about what the world will say.” Ghulam Nabi Azad of the Congress urged members to maintain peace in the House, allow the PM to make a statement, and then discuss the demolition to condemn it. As disruptions continued, the House was adjourned again from 2.34 pm to 4.30 pm. The moment the House reassembled, Janata Dal leaders Shrikant Jena and Nitish Kumar came into the well of the House, and it had to be adjourned for the day. On December 8, amid interruptions, the House was adjourned till 2 pm soon after it met at 11 am. When the House met again at 2 pm, BJP leader Atal Bihari Vajpayee requested the Speaker to secure the release of Advani, so that he could attend the House proceedings. Paswan asked the Speaker to first ask Rao to resign and then start the proceedings. Basudeb Acharia of the CPI(M) said he had given notices for suspension of Question Hour and also for an adjournment motion, and the Speaker said he would allow him. Acharia said the country was burning, labelled the BJP “the creator of riots”, and added that Vajpayee should not be allowed to speak. “You should first allow us to speak. More than a thousand people have died,” he said. Vajpayee sought to know how the House could function in such a situation and the Speaker adjourned the House for the day. Adjourned for a week The next day, December 9, the Speaker decided to adjourn the House till December 16 so that members could go back to their constituencies. Somnath Chatterjee of the CPI(M) and Ram Vilas Paswan said the House must condemn the demolition of the mosque. To this, the Speaker said, “I understand that it is the desire of the House that peace and amity should prevail throughout our country and this House appeals to all countrymen to cooperate with us in this task. We condole the deaths. We cannot take pride in the incident which took place on 6th December.” As interruptions continued, the House was adjourned till December 16. By the time the House met on December 16, state governments of UP, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, and Himachal Pradesh had been dismissed, and BJP leader Madan Lal Khurana said this “murder of democracy” needed to be condemned. During a discussion, which was marred by interruptions, Jaswant Singh said BJP governments had been undemocratically dismissed and the RSS, "a nationalist organisation", and the VHP had been banned. Vajpayee said Advani should be shifted to Tihar Jail and allowed to attend proceedings of the House as Leader of the Opposition. Many leaders from the Congress and regional parties continued to be combative, with Mani Shankar Aiyar saying that “the traitors should be arrested” and Mukul Wasnik asserting that Advani was lawfully arrested, should stay in jail, and was not required in the House. As Khurana said no meaningful discussion could happen without Advani, Azad said Parliament could not be held up for one person. After Jaswant Singh had spoken, Nitish Kumar sought to know whether BJP members would listen to others too or start an uproar. Chatterjee said Advani had not applied for bail, which meant he did not want to come to the House. To this, Jaswant Singh said the government was “afraid of bringing Shri Advani to the House”. Amid interruptions, the House was adjourned till 4 pm. Once the House reassembled, Khurana said he had given a notice under Rule 184 calling for the House to be adjourned till Advani could be presented the following day to “participate in the discussion regarding the present situation in the country”. He also demanded that Rao resign and seek a fresh mandate from the people. The resolution The Speaker ordered the laying of papers on the table of the House after which Azad moved a resolution that was adopted by the majority of the House. It said, “The House strongly and unequivocally condemns the desecration and demolition of the Babri Masjid at Ayodhya by and at the instigation of forces represented among others by the VHP, RSS and Bajrang Dal, which has caused communal violence in the country. Such an act of vandalism was carried out not only in violation of the orders of the Supreme Court but amounted to an attack on the secular foundations of our country.” The resolution added, “The House expresses its anguish at the happenings and wishes to reiterate its resolve that it will ceaselessly endeavour to uphold the secular and democratic traditions of our country and for the maintenance of the Rule of Law.” The resolution, which also expressed condolences to all victims of the riots that broke out after the demolition of the mosque, demanded that the government take all steps for their rehabilitation and appealed to people to maintain peace and harmony. Passed with the thumping of desks, the House adjourned till the following morning.
