‘Babri Masjid demolition broke India’s heart’

PATNA: Former Bihar chief minister and Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) chief Lalu Prasad was catapulted to the national stage when he ordered the arrest of BJP leader LK Advani in 1990, in the run-up to the eventual demolition of the Babri Masjid two years later. Advani was then marching through parts of north India on his Rath Yatra.

Twenty-seven years later, Prasad tells Anirban Guha Roy that he suspects the demolition was a ploy by right-wing forces to weaken the movement for backward classes empowerment after the Mandal commission recommendations on job quotas was implemented. Edited excerpts:

How do you see 25 years of the demolition of Babri Masjid?

The Sangh Parivar and its affiliates have always tried to whip up communal passion to weaken secularism despite the fact that India, since pre-independence days, has been known for her secular credentials. The Babri Masjid issue was raked up just to weaken the empowerment of backward classes following the implementation of the Mandal commission report on job reservations. The demolition broke the nation’s heart and it gave a big blow to secular credennovember tials. Wounds have still not healed after 25 years.

So you believe the demolition was part of a larger game by the BJP to weaken the backward classes movement?

Yes, it was. See, when the Mandal commission report was implemented, it brought a big social change. It confounded the BJP which raked up Babri Masjid.they gave a call Mandal vs Kamandal. LK Advani started a Rath Yatra from Somnath to Ayodhya to push the Hindutva agenda by arousing religious sentiments among Hindus. (Eventually) It was me, who arrested Advani, and it sent a signal that India’s secular forces were strong.

Can you recall the days before the demolition?

Those were eventful. As CM, I attended the national integration council in 1992 just weeks before the demolition. In the meeting, Advani as BJP president assured us there would be only parikrama of kar sevaks and the mosque would not be demolished. It was an assurance that then Prime Minister PV Narshima Rao took seriously and paid a heavy price for. Rao was misled and the Centre became lax in handling the volatile situation.

What is your take on the present situation in the country? Do you feel the demolition changed India’s political dynamics?

The BJP is once again playing on old issues, be it Babri Masjid or triple talaq, just to divide the nation. This is a strategic ploy to divert attention from the country’s burning issues, be it unemployment, farmers distress, demonetisation and goods and services tax. The Centre has failed on all fronts and is only playing the politics of religion. But such attempts to impose renewed Hindutva will never succeed as the people have realised the BJP’S ulterior motives... In the coming elections, people will reject the forces trying to divide the nation by giving a big mandate to secular forces.