Kalyan Singh may be leader Dr Bhagwat is looking for

NEW DELHI: Former UP chief minister Kalyan Singh, who appears to be sensing an opportunity for political rehabilitation, on Tuesday aggressively defended the Ram temple movement and said that he did not regret the demolition of the Babri Masjid. “I had told the Liberhan panel that I have no regret. A grand temple for Ram should be built at Ayodhya,” Mr Singh said.

Mr Singh, who flaunted his loyalty to the Sangh Parivar, said he will always be on the forefront of the temple movement. “I will aid every effort of BJP,” he said while indicating his desire to get back into the BJP tent.

Mr Singh, who rejected the charge that his government was a mute spectator to the events at Ayodhya, claimed that he had asked the police to use force — lathis and tear gas — against kar sevaks. “But I also asked them not to fire at kar sevaks because I wanted to prevent a massacre,” he said.

Mr Singh also dismissed the Liberhan report’s finding that the Babri demolition was meticulously planned. “It was a spontaneous reaction of the anger of lakhs of kar sevaks who assembled at Ayodhya,” Mr Singh said.

The former UP chief minister said Congress cannot wash its hands off as its government at the Centre kept the para-military forces in the barracks. “I was never asked about their deployment. Neither the Centre nor the state governor asked me to take any particular step,” Mr Singh said.

He said Congress was responsible for the crisis at Ayodhya. “The idol was placed when Congress was in power at the Centre. Congress opened the locks of the structure and allowed puja. It was Rajiv Gandhi and Buta Singh who organised shilanyas,” Mr Singh said.

Mr Singh also condemned the indictment of former PM Atal Bihari Vajpayee in the report. “It is a politically motivated exercise. It will be rejected by the people of this country,” he said. “I am ready to face any action,” he added while challenging the Centre to proceed against him in the case.