Officials associated with the panel say that apart from Uma Bharati and, to a certain extent, Kalyan SIngh — both are now out the BJP — no BJP functionary showed any inclination to share responsibility for the December 6 incident. In fact, most BJP leaders told the Commission that they had tried to prevent Kar Sevaks from carrying out the demolition.

“During her deposition in 2001, Uma Bharati became emotional and blurted out that the structure deserved to be brought down. However, during subsequent cross-examination, she claimed she was at a distance from the disputed structure and when she saw the structure being pulled down, she tried to stop it,” said a source.

Kalyan Singh, who quit the BJP and supported the SP in the 2009 Lok Sabha election, first got a court stay to avoid deposing before the panel. Later, when the protection granted was lifted, he appeared as the last witness and his deposition was said to be “very productive”.

“His (Singh’s) was the longest testimony before the Commission which continued for 20-odd sittings and his deposition ran into over 400 pages. In fact, he volunteered to submit an affidavit and written statements which most top leaders avoided,” recalled an official.

In his testimony, Singh claimed that the demolition “was an act of God... whatever happened on that day, the deponent has no regret, no repentance, no sorrow, and no grief for that... Historians will write that devotees of Ram and devotees of the nation had demolished this symbol of slavery and disgrace and though this demolition was not unexpected, it was purely sudden and totally unplanned.”

... contd.