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

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.

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.

File photo of Babri Masjid in Ayodhya, November 1990. The Supreme Court on Wednesday revived the 25-year-old trial in the Babri Masjid demolition case by allowing fresh charges of criminal conspiracy against Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leaders L.K. Advani, Murali Manohar Joshi, Uma Bharti and 13 others. (PTI)

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.

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.