“I am innocent,” said Kalyan Singh, the former Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh, on Monday after he appeared before a special CBI court here in connection with the Babri Masjid demolition case in which he is an accused.
Talking to media after recording his statement, Mr. Singh said as the Chief Minister he and his government had taken solid measures, including a three-tier security system, for the protection of the Babri Masjid. Mr. Singh was heading the State government when the Mughal-era mosque was demolished by a mob of ‘karsevaks’ in Ayodhya on December 6, 1992.
He alleged that the Congress government at the Centre then implicated him on baseless allegations.
“There was a Congress government at the Centre then, so due to political vendetta, a case on baseless and false allegations was filed against me on the directions of the Central Government,” the BJP leader said.
The former Chief Minister was assisted by two persons as he walked out of the court after over three-hour-long questioning.
Mr. Singh deposed before special judge S.K. Yadav under Section 313 of the CrPC. The court had called him in order to enable him to plead his innocence, if he so wanted.
(With PTI inputs)
