Babri case: 'BJP believes in innocence of its leaders'

The Supreme Court had on Wednesday allowed a CBI plea for restoring the charges against top BJP leaders Advani, Joshi and Uma Bharti.

New Delhi, Apr 20: The BJP believes in the innocence of its leaders in the Babri Masjid case, party leader Ravi Shankar Prasad said on Thursday and rejected as "imaginary" a question on whether the Supreme Court order will impact the possible candidature of L K Advani and Murli Manohar Joshi in the presidential and vice presidential polls.

"We believe in the innocence of our important leaders, including Advani ji and Joshi ji...They have been facing trial and they will face trial in terms of process of law," he told reporters.

Asked whether the SC order asking them to face trial will impact their candidature for the posts of the President and the Vice President, elections for which are due in the next few months, the Union minister said he would not respond to "imaginary" questions.

While the term of President Pranab Mukherjee is coming to an end on July 24, the term of Vice President Hamid Ansari ends on August 10.

Top BJP leaders Advani, Joshi and Uma Bharti will be tried for criminal conspiracy in the 1992 Babri Masjid demolition case as the Supreme Court had on Wednesday allowed a CBI plea for restoring the charge against them.

The apex court, however, noted that Rajasthan Governor Kalyan Singh enjoys constitutional immunity and can be tried only after he ceases to hold the office. Singh was the chief minister of Uttar Pradesh in 1992.

Prasad said the case relating to the demolition is not a new one and had been on since 1993.

"It has gone through various stages of justice...It was a Supremer Court order which said cases in Lucknow and Rae Bareli should go on separately. Now the court has said that the two cases be clubbed together. Both are the Supreme Court's orders. The Supreme Court is supreme," he said.

PTI