Congress sorry for Babri Masjid demolition: Digvijay Singh

LUCKNOW: Congress leader Digvijay Singh on Saturday apologised for the demolition of the Babri Masjid in 1992 when the party was in power at the
national level.

"We would once again like to say sorry to the nation for the demolition of the Babri Masjid as at that time the P.V. Narasimha Rao led-Congress was in power."

"We would also like to clarify that we will not have any kind of association with (former Bharatiya Janata Party leader) Kalyan Singh who was the chief minister of Uttar Pradesh when the (mosque) was demolished," Singh said.

Singh, Congress general secretary and in-charge of party affairs in Uttar Pradesh, was here to address a rally organised by the minority cell of the party to press the Uttar Pradesh government for utilising the funds allocated by the central government for several schemes for the minorities.

Earlier in the day, he said the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) government in the state had a lethargic attitude in implementing central government schemes.

"The central government had sanctioned Rs.1,300 crore (Rs.13 billion) to the state government for various schemes for the minorities. However, the fund has yet not been utilised and will lapse on March 31," Singh said.