AP karsevaks say Advani instigated
them to pull the mosque down

Two office-bearers of the Hyderabad-based Akhil Bharatha Ayodhya Ram Mandir Karsevak Sangh have endorsed the claims of five accused in the Babri Masjid demolition case that top Bharatiya Janata Party leaders had instigated karsevaks to pull down the Babri Masjid on December 6, 1992.

Adhi Venkateswara Rao, national convenor and T Venkatesham, state convenor of the Karsevak Sangh, told newsmen that they now believe that the entire Ayodhya campaign of the BJP was 'only for votes.'

They said Deputy Prime Minister Lal Kishenchand Advani, Union Human Resources Development Minister Dr Murli Manohar Joshi and other senior party leaders had goaded and cheered karsevaks as they went about briging down the structure.

Rao, who was arrested for arson and jailed for three months, said: "We were asked by BJP leaders to break the mosque and build a temple. In those days, Advani and other political leaders acted as if the BJP was an integral part of the VHP and the RSS."

Lashing out at the BJP leadership for not taking care of the families of karsevaks who died during the demolition, Rao said the BJP used the Babri Masjid issue and the karsevaks' sacrifices to get votes.

Rao and Venkatesham showed their ID cards and pictures of their participation in kar seva. They pointed out that the Karsevak Sangh was formed in 1999 by about 1,300 karsevaks from across the country. "We will continue the struggle for building the Ram temple at Ayodhya without any help from the BJP," Rao said.

Ayodhya Dispute: The Complete Coverage