Interestingly, in April this year, ex-BJP MP Ram Vilas Vedanti had said that it was he and not former Deputy Prime Minister L.K. Advani who egged a frenzied mob to raze the Babri Masjid in 1992.
"He (Advani) had no role in this incident. I brought it down and ensured that it went down." Vedanti said. "It was I who said 'Ek dhakka aur do, Babri Masjid tod do'", he added.
Advani is one of the senior most leaders of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). Vilas Vedanti is one of the 13 people accused by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) of conspiring to bring down the 16th-century mosque at Ayodhya, Uttar Pradesh.
The incident happened on December 6, 1992.
Recently, the Supreme Court had directed the special court in Lucknow to proceed with the trial against BJP leaders Advani, Murli Manohar Joshi, BJP MP Vinay Katiyar and Union Minister Uma Bharati among others.
Recalling the incident, Vedanti had said that when the mosque was being attacked by a mob, he along with the late Ashok Singhal and Mahant Avaidyanth encouraged the VHP activists to ensure that it came down brick by brick.
Vedanti had said that it was vital to demolish the mosque to the ground quickly so that a makeshift Ram temple could be raised on its ruins.
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