BJP, Shiv Sena chant for Mandir amidst Lok Sabha din
The Bharatiya Janata Party on Thursday once again chanted its vow to build a Ram temple at the disputed site in Ayodhya, even as the Lok Sabha witnessed uproar over some MPs’ demand for action on the report of the Liberhan Commission that probed the demolition of the Babri mosque in 1992.
“Mandir wohi banayenge (We will build the temple there itself),” shouted the BJP MPs as they trooped into the well of the Lok Sabha to demand suspension of Bahujan Samaj Party member Shafiqur Rahman Barq, who waved a black flag in the House to mark the 20th anniversary of the demolition of the 16th century shrine on December 6, 1992.
The BJP MPs were also joined by the Shiv Sena members and the pandemonium led to two adjournments of the House.
The BJP’s aggressive retort to Barq’s demand for action on Liberhan Commission’s report came just three months after its veteran leader L K Advani, himself a champion of ‘Ram Janambhoomi’ movement, publicly called for an “imaginative re-projection” of the party’s “commitment to secularism” to ‘reassure’ its potential new allies. It also came at a time when the BJP’s Hindutva icon Narendra Modi is leading the party’s electioneering in Gujarat, seeking a third term in power in the State as well as stoking speculation about his prime ministerial ambitions.
Black flags
Barq waved the black flag in the Lok Sabha as soon as the House assembled on Thursday. He was heard deploring that those who had brought down the Babri mosque 20 years ago had not yet been punished. Speaker Meira Kumar sternly told him that his act of waving black flag was tantamount to insulting the House. She also asked him to keep the black flag aside.
Barq was joined by Asaduddin Owaisi of All India Majlis-E-Ittehadul Muslimeen and a few other MPs, who soon trooped into the well of the House and raised slogans, demanding that the government should act against perpetrators of the demolition of the mosque in Ayodhya.
Delegation
A parliamentary delegation from Pakistan was in the Special Gallery when the House witnessed the uproar.
Basudev Acharia of the Communist Party of India (Marxist) and T R Baalu of the Dravida Munnethra Kazhagam were also on their feet asking the government to respond to the demands for action against those who had demolished the disputed shrine. The BJP and Shiv Sena MPs too came to the well and demanded that Barq be suspended for waving the black flag and insulting the House.
The Speaker had to adjourn the House till noon. But pandemonium continued even after the House reassembled leading to another adjournment till 2:00 pm.
