A DAMP SQUIB AFTER 17 YEARS.

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how the demolition was done, the commission says nothing on how to bring the " culpable" people to account.

Analysts believe it even lacks the firepower to be a potent political weapon, as is evident from the government's deadpan ATR. There is a huge disconnect in the conclusions and the recommendations, which are the most important aspect of a judicial commission's report because the government's action is formulated on the basis of the recommendations.

For instance, Justice Liberhan named 68 persons as culpable " for leading the country to the brink of communal discord". Among the 68 " culpables" are: Atal Bihari Vajpayee, L. K. Advani, Kalyan Singh, Murli Manohar Joshi, Acharya Giriraj Kishore and Ashok Singhal. However, none of these " offenders" have been mentioned in the recommendations of the report.

The commission attacks political leaders for reducing " one of the greatest nations, and one of the oldest civilisations to a state of stark intolerance and barbarianism -- all for petty political gains". But none of this outrage is reflected in the recommendations. The recommendations pertain to institutional reforms without mentioning any individual or organisation that could be blamed for the demolition.

Sample paragraph 1.6 in the ATR. " Recommendation -- The extraneous interference in democratic affairs for acquiring political power through criminalisation of political office or mixing of political and religious affairs has become the order of the day". The response to this was, " Action Taken -- Noted". Contrast this with the report's conclusions: " It cannot be assumed even for a moment that L. K. Advani, A. B. Vajpayee or M. M. Joshi did not know the designs of the Sangh ParivarC* They were party to the decisions which had been taken." Elsewhere, referring to Vajpayee, Advani and Joshi, the report says, " The pseudo- moderate leaders were a tool in the hands of the RSS and could not have defied its diktat without having to bow out of public life as leaders of the BJP. Evidence does not show that pseudo- moderate leaders were in charge of the situationC* The leaders however, cannot be given the benefit of the doubt and exonerated of culpability."

Quantifying culpability, the commission divides the leaders, bureaucrats and organisations into three groups. The first group represents those who bear the "primary and the greatest" responsibility -- RSS, VHP, BJP. The second group includes the "pseudo moderates" such as Vajpayee, Advani and Joshi. And the third group constitutes "communal Muslim leaders". None of these groups found mention in the ATR.

Rejecting the charge that the ATR has been a "damp squib", law minister Veerappa Moily said the government has accepted all the recommendations made by the Liberhan Commission and 'positive action' will be taken on them. He said the government could go beyond the recommendations made in the report and take action on the basis of the conclusions drawn by the judge which are harsher. "We have not rejected the recommendations. Each and every recommendation has been accepted and noted. The government is bound to take positive action," Moily said.

Asked about the follow-up action of the government, the minister said, "It is too early to say that. The government may bring a Bill like the Communal Harmony Bill." Naturally, the report came as a relief both to the Congress as well as to the BJP/RSS. The Congress was saved embarrassment by the exoneration of Naramasinha Rao who, as Prime Minister, was perceived to have failed to prevent the demolition of the mosque.

"The Central government was crippled by the failure of the intelligence agencies to provide an analysis of the situation." The report makes no mention of Rajiv Gandhi. The reference is perhaps only by way of indication. All it says on the issue is that the district magistrate who opened the locks to the disputed site gave a report which made "interesting reading and reveals the extraneous considerations which influenced the decision".

The Congress was quick to seize at the opportunity. Asked about the meeting of the National Integration Council in 1992 which had empowered Narasimha Rao to take any decision to prevent any untoward incident, Congress spokesperson Abhishek Manu Singhvi said the then government was " misled" by the affidavit which was filed by the then Uttar Pradesh chief minister Kalyan Singh in the Supreme Court.

The Congress even found the moral high ground in that it had dropped Jagdish Tytler from the Union cabinet and denied the party ticket to Sajjan Kumar following the 1984 Sikh riots even though they were not mentioned in any report.

Meanwhile, the BJP did not come under any tangible threat as a result of the report. Justice Liberhan did not recommend any ban on organisations such as VHP and Bajrang Dal neither did he recommend any action against Advani, Joshi and others while holding them " culpable" for the destruction of the mosque at Ayodhya.

Justice Liberhan's recommendations are futuristic and academic in nature -- they refer to the desirability of enacting a legislation to prevent communal riots, establishing a criminal justice commission, constituting an assembly to look into the working of the Constitution.

There is not a single recommendation that mentions individual offenders in the demolition case.

The government responded accordingly in the ATR by repeating " noted" and " agreed" to most recommendations.

Abhishek Singhvi said a supplementary charge sheet will be filed against all those who have been named in the report after a police investigation. " Certainly, absolutely, totally... Supplementary charge sheet can and will be filed," Singhvi said when asked whether such an action will be taken against all those who have been named in the commission's report but against whom there are no FIRs.

The Congress and the Samajwadi Party, main players in Uttar Pradesh, claimed separately that the report and the ATR are to their political advantage.

Congress sources the government can get the matter investigated further and file additional charge sheets. The party could use it to keep the saffron party in check while bolstering its support base among the Muslims.

A senior Congress leader, however, admitted that the BJP too would try to derive electoral benefit.

" If we plan action, they may engineer communal riots in some places," he said.

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