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Describing the Babri masjid as an “insult to the nation,” Ms Bharati known for her inflammatory speeches in the early 90s supporting the BJP’s Hindutva line as well as the construction of Ram temple at Ayodhya - in her final deposition before the commission said: “I am hurt by anything that goes by the name of an aggressor. I cannot relate such a structure with any religion. Aggressors should only be treated like aggressors.”
She went to on cite the example of Zimbabwe, formerly known as Rhodesia, where the names of buildings, cities and roads kept after its British rulers, were changed after it gained independence. The Rhodesians did it despite the fact that their erstwhile rulers belonged to the same religion (Christianity), she remarked.
Ms Bharati’s observations indirectly justify the demolition of Babri masjid, named after Mughal emperor Babur who she described as an “aggressor”, by kar sevaks wanting to build Ram temple at the disputed site. Asserting that she believed in the construction of a Ram temple at Ayodhya, Ms Bharati said “my being a minister or not does not affect my belief.”
She, however, expressed faith in
the judicial system saying, “whatever be the court verdict (on the Ayodhya
issue), I shall happily accept that.” She dismissed questions about a possible
dash between her belief in construction of the Ram temple at Ayodhya and
her oath as a minister, saying “the question is entirely hypothetical and
such an occasion would not arise.”
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