Mulayam regrets firing on 'Karsevaks' in 1990; BJP says he should apologise

Lucknow/New Delhi, Jan 25: Hitting out at Samajwadi Party chief Mulayam Singh Yadav, BJP today said he should "apologise" if he sincerely felt "sad" for ordering firing on 'karsevaks' in 1990 and come out openly in support of the Ram temple in Ayodhya.

BJP national secretary Shrikant Sharma said Yadav was trying to do "penance" for his "mistake" at a time when the SP government in the state was mired in "corruption" and was on its last breath.

"Mughal king Babur's general Mir Baqi destroyed Hindu temples, including the Ram temple in Ayodhya. Political parties for decades have been doing vote bank politics over the issue. If Yadav is sincere, then he should come out openly in support of the temple," he said in Delhi.

In Lucknow, BJP spokesman Vijay Bahadur Pathak said, "The 'karsevaks' on whom the Mulayam government ordered firing were barehanded. In such a case, firing on them was a heinous crime."

He said the firing was ordered even though it had already been announced that 'karseva' was going to be symbolic.

"25 years later he is feeling sad which will not suffice and end the suffering of those who lost their family members," Pathak said, demanding that the SP supremo should apologise to the family members of the 'karsevaks' who lost their loved ones in the incident.

Yadav had yesterday said at an event in Lucknow that he "felt sad" for ordering the firing in 1990 but it was necessary to save the religious place. At least 16 people were killed in the firing.

PTI