Babri report: ATR doesn't suggest punitive action

The Liberhan Commission Report on the Babri mosque demolition has been tabled after 17 years in Parliament. Discussion on the report will be taken up in both Houses on December 1.Home Minister P Chidambaram tabled the report along with the government's Action Taken Report (ATR), and the question now: will there be any punitive action based on the report?

The Liberhan Report holds 68 people, including former prime minister Atal Behari Vajpayee, responsible for "bringing the country to the brink of communal discord."

The government's ATR does not recommend any punitive action against these 68 persons, in fact, it doesn't single any of them out. The Law Minister says the Liberhan Commission was a fact-finding commission and has told NDTV to expect follow-up action based on the commission's conclusions.The ATR also says the government is contemplating a bill to check communal violence. The Liberhan Commission calls for a special separate law providing for punishment for misusing religion to acquire political power.Apart from the general recommendations, the ATR makes note of the commission's suggestions on civil services, riot control, intelligence agencies, Centre-state relations, religious and cultural sites and the Press and lists action take on these.

On Tuesday morning, there were unruly scenes in the Rajya Sabha immediately after the home minister tabled the report. BJP leaders raised slogans, members rushed into the well of the House. There was a scuffle between BJP and Samajwadi Party members and the Upper House was adjourned.The fact that the media had access to the report before it was shared in Parliament led to the entire Opposition uniting to declare this was a breach of protocol. The Home Minister said that there are two copies of the report, one is with the government, and that nobody in his Ministry leaked the Liberhan Report to the press.

The report describes the demolition as "a tailor-made exercise" fuelled and executed by the BJP. The report slams the then UP Chief Minister Kalyan Singh in particular, accusing him of lulling his administration into "ineffectiveness" till the demolition was complete.