New Delhi, Monday 07 December 2009: With Parliament scheduled to discuss the Liberhan Commission report from today, Congress and BJP are expected to try to put each other in the dock over the issue of demolition of Babri Masjid.

BJP, several top leaders of which have been indicted by the Commission, is cut up with the virtual clean chit given to former Prime Minister P V Narasimha Rao by the panel, an issue on which it appears to be making a common cause with the Samajwadi Party.

This was evident with the Samajwadi Party going hammer and tongs against Congress over the report, saying the party then led by Rao failed to prevent the developments which ultimately led to the Masjid’s demolition.

In this connection, the BJP is pointing out the denial of ticket by Congress to Rao in the 1998 Lok Sabha elections for his failure to protect the Masjid.

While the Lok Sabha will have the discussion on the report tomorrow and the day after, the Rajya Sabha will deliberate on it on December 9 and 10. The report is coming up for discussion a day after the 17th anniversary of the demolition.

The SP has also targeted Prime Minister Manmohan Singh accusing him of ensuring a clean chit for Rao under whom he had worked as Finance Minister in the 1990s, a charge dismissed as “laughable” by Congress.

“The party will present its own perspective on the report,” Congress spokesperson Manish Tewari said when asked how it would counter the opposition attack in the debate over the alleged inaction by Rao.