Cong reminds PM of his take on morality

NEW DELHI: The Congress on Wednesday said the guilty in the 1992 Babri Masjid demolition case should be punished, and urged Prime Minister Narendra Modi to ensure that his ministerial colleagues maintained a “high standard of morality”.

While the main opposition party was guarded in its reaction, Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) chief Lalu Prasad sought use the Supreme Court ruling to create a wedge in the ruling BJP.

Prasad claimed that it was a “well-thought-out politics” of the Prime Minister to remove veteran BJP leader LK Advani’s name from the Presidential race.

“The CBI is under the Prime Minister’s influence. It stood in the Supreme Court and sought permission to run trial against Advani and others in the Babri Masjid demolition case,” he alleged.

“Since Advani’s name was in circulation as a probable for the post of President, Modi through well-thought-out politics struck out his name. It is well known that CBI does what the government desires,” the RJD chief said.

There is a realisation in the Congress camp that pursuing the issue aggressively and politically could backfire as the judgement is expected to come by 2019 when the general elections will be due.

The party would want the law to take its own course. “It is eventually going to be a Mandir-Masjid issue. We are not going to fall into the trap. We will wait for the Supreme Court judgement on the matter,” a senior Congress functionary said on the condition of anonymity.

On record, Congress’ chief spokesperson Randeep Singh Surjewala said: “The Supreme Court has spoken. Let justice be done and the guilty punished. The law is equal for everyone irrespective of stature, caste, creed, religion or region.”

His colleagues Kapil Sibal and Manish Tewari also expressed satisfaction over the order. While Tewari said the ruling is satisfying but delayed, Sibal hoped that Modi would remember his “pronouncements” on morality.

“As far as other issues concerned, our Prime Minister is always very committed to the cause of morality. Those are his public pronouncements. Occasionally, he forgets morality when it comes to his ministers. Let us hope he doesn’t forget it this time,” Sibal said.