Kalyan apologises for Babri demolition

B D Narayankar

TO salvage Samajwadi Party''s secular image, former BJP leader Kalyan Singh has apologised for Babri Masjid demolition here on Wednesday.

Kalyan Singh recently had resigned from BJP and joined hands with SP chief Mulayam Singh over the ticket distribution issue. The alliance, however, has threatened to alienate SP's Muslim supporters for Kalyan Singh's earlier speeches bashing the Muslim and his role in the Babri Masjid demolition.

"I want to make it clear that I had taken moral responsibility for the demolition of Babri Masjid on December 6, 1992 and had resigned from the post of chief ministership," he said in a statement that came amidst reports that Mulayam Singh Yadav-led SP had demanded his apology.

Muslim clerics belonging to institutions like Darul Uloom Deoband were believed to have told SP leaders that “Muslims can never forgive Kalyan for his role in the demolition, sources say.

Kalyan Singh was the chief minister of the BJP government at the time of demolition and his government was also dismissed by the Central government immediately. He was sentenced and jailed for a day for contempt of court for not keeping the promise of protecting the monument.

Kalyan earlier claimed that Muslims do not see him as anti-minority as he had never discriminated against them during his tenure which also saw the razing of the Babri mosque.

"Letters and phone calls are coming in hordes not just from Hindus but also from Muslims who have hailed my decision to quit the BJP and also the coming together of two politicians (him and Samajwadi Party chief Mulayam Singh Yadav)," Singh said.