I provoked kar sevaks to demolish Babri masjid, Advani was trying to stop them: Vedanti

Ayodhya Former BJP MP Ram Vilas Vedanti on Friday said it was he and not senior leader LK Advani who provoked kar sevaks to demolish the Babri Masjid on December 6, 1992.

Addressing media persons at his residence here, Vedanti claimed the CBI had presented wrong facts before the Supreme Court.

“When the mosque was being razed, Ashok Singhal, Mahant Avaidyanath and I exhorted the kar sevaks to bring the structure down,” Vedanti said.

“While we were inciting the mob, Joshi, Advani and Vijayraje Scindia were trying to stop the kar sevaks,” he said.

Vedanti said the mosque had to be demolished so that a makeshift Ram temple could be constructed on its ruins. “It was I who said ‘ek dhakka aur do, Babri Masjid tod do’,” he claimed.

“It does not matter if I am hanged for making this statement. The mosque was in a dilapidated state and could have collapsed any time as it had faced 400 rainy seasons,” he said.

He demanded that the 67.77 acre acquired land around the disputed site should be handed over to the Ram Janmbhoomi Nyas.

Vedanti is among the 13 people who have been accused of conspiracy by the CBI.

Vedanti’s statement comes after the Supreme Court asked the special court in Lucknow to proceed with the trial against LK Advani, Murli Manohar Joshi, Uma Bharti, and Vinay Katiyar, among others.

First Published: Apr 22, 2017 00:37 IST