Babri demolition: CPI(M) for firm stand in defence of

The CPI(M) said today that the demolition of Babri Masjid 25 years ago was the "milestone" from where the march of Hindutva forces for political power began, and pitched for taking a firm stand in defence of secularism.
Former CPI(M) general secretary Prakash Karat, while lamenting the demolition of the mosque on December 6, 1992, said that the "day can be seen as the milestone from where the march of Hindutva forces for political power began".
"It is to be hoped that those who thought that compromise and appeasement of the communal forces will solve the problem, have learnt lessons from the bitter consequences of their opportunism.

"There is no other way than taking a firm stand in defence of secularism and mobilising the people to fight against the dark forces of reaction," Karat said in an editorial in the forthcoming issue of party organ 'People's Democracy'.
Accusing the RSS-led Hindutva forces of perpetrating the "brazen attack", Karat said that these forces were "backed by the then Uttar Pradesh state government and were able to defy the might of the Indian State and the orders of the Supreme Court".
Noting that the 16th century mosque was not demolished to build a temple at the disputed site, Karat said that it was used as vehicle for political mobilisation which was apparent from the time the BJP adopted a resolution for building the Ram Temple in Ayodhya in 1989 in its national executive meet in Palampur.

He also said that the "infamous" 'Rath Yatra' led by L K Advani left a trail of communal violence and destruction.
He also blamed the then P V Narasimha Rao-led Congress government at the Centre, saying that in the days preceding December 6, despite reports from Intelligence agencies that thousands were being assembled to attack the mosque and desperate pleas from the Muslim community in Ayodhya, the prime minister believed what the RSS leaders promised.
Stating that the Babri Masjid-Ramjanmabhoomi dispute remains a test for India's secularism and the republican state, Karat emphasised that "there can be no compromise with forces who wish to dismantle India's secular-democratic republic and install a Hindu Rashtra".