LUCKNOW - Asking the central government to make public the Liberhan Commission report , Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Mayawati Tuesday alleged that the Congress was as much responsible as the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) for the 1992 demolition of the Babri Masjid in Ayodhya.

“Timely intervention by the Congress, which was ruling at the centre at that time, could have prevented the demolition of the Babri Masjid,” Mayawati told reporters here.

Even after it received information from various intelligence agencies and other sources that the BJP and its allies were planning to raze the mosque, the Congress preferred to look the other way, she added.

“Had the Congress acted on the information provided by the Intelligence Bureau (IB), the Babri Masjid demolition would not have taken place,” Mayawati said.

“The Congress should have acted against the BJP, which was ruling Uttar pradesh then. Such an intervention could have prevented the riots and communal clashes that erupted in various parts of the country (after the mosque demolition),” Mayawati claimed.

Asking the central government to make public the Liberhan Commission report, submitted to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh earlier in the day, Mayawati said she hoped that the report would also shed light on the involvement of the Congress in the mosque demolition.

“The report should be made public as it would be in the interest of transparency,” said Mayawati, adding that those indicted by the probe panel should be punished severely.

“Now, the entire country will watch the action the central government takes against those involved in the demolition. Now, it is to be seen whether the central government would be able to muster the courage needed to punish the guilty,” she said.

The panel headed by Justice (retd) M.S. Liberhan was set up in 1992 to investigate the Dec 6, 1992, demolition of the 16th century mosque that led to widespread communal violence. Hindu rightwing groups maintain that the mosque was built on the site where Lord Ram was born.

“The commission should not have taken such a long time in its investigation as it results in the wastage of money,” Mayawati added.