After 17 years, panel submits Ayodhya report

Seventeen years after it was set up, the Liberhan Commission, looking into the Babri Masjid demolition in Ayodhya, submitted its report to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Tuesday.  

Leader of Opposition L K Advani and many Bhartiya Janata party leaders appeared before the commission. The outcome will be awaited eagerly by leaders like Advani and the Babri Masjid Action Commitee.

The commission was constituted on December 16, 1992 by then home ministry after the Babri Masjid demolition. The Commission was expected to submit its report in three months, but it took 17 long years -- for which it drew flak often -- with no less than 48 extensions. More than Rs 10 crore has also been spent by the commission.   

The commission was formed by then prime minister P V Narsimha Rao. The commission was asked to inquire into the role played by the then Uttar Pradesh chief minister, Members of the Council of Ministers, state government officials.

In its report, the commission would also comment on the deficiencies in security measures and other arrangements made by the Uttar Pradesh government, which might have contributed to the demolition.