'Narasimha Rao believed Scindia's assurance on Babri against minister's advice'

As the Ram Janmbhoomi movement gathered steam in 1992 BJP leader Vijaya Raje Scindia had assured then prime minister P V Narasimha Rao that nothing would happen to Babri Masjid and he believed her against the advice of his ministers NCP chief Sharad Pawar revealed on TuesdayAt the launch of senior journalist Neerja Chowdhurys book How Prime Ministers Decide Pawar who was the defence minister at the time of the Babri Masjid demolition said he along with then home minister and the home secretary was present at the meetingThere was a group of ministers and I was one of them It was decided that the prime minister should call a meeting of leaders of the respective party the NCP chief saidIn that meeting Vijaya Raje Scindia had assured the prime minister that nothing would happen to the Babri Masjid he saidPawar said that while he the home minister and home secretary felt anything could happen Rao chose to believe ScindiaChowdhury meanwhile recalled a conversation that Rao had with some senior journalists in the aftermath of the mosque demolition where the prime minister was asked what he was doing when the demolition happenedShe claimed that Rao had told journalists that he allowed it to happen because it would end a festering sore and he felt the BJP would lose its main political cardThe book was launched by Pawar along with Kerala Governor Arif Mohammad Khan Congress leader Shashi Tharoor former railway minister and BJP leader Dinesh Trivedi and Maharashtras former CM Prithviraj ChavanThe discussion was moderated by senior journalist Rajdeep SardesaiTrivedi recalled the time of Rajiv Gandhi as prime minister and the role of Arun Nehru one of his key advisorsArun Nehru was like family That was one of the best periods and if it continued things would be very different Trivedi saidPrithviraj Chavan who served as a Union minister in the UPA government said not handling the Anna Hazare movement properly caused the downfall of the Congressled allianceWhat caused that downfall was what happened immediately before that Scams 2G We didnt handle Anna Hazare rightly Thats what brought an end to the Congress government he saidHe also said that former prime minister Manmohan Singh was good at building consensus and mentioned the nuclear dealChowdhurys book analyses the operating styles of the countrys prime ministers through the prism of six decisions of historic significanceFormer PM Indira Gandhis return to power in 1980 after her humiliating defeat post the Emergency in 1977 Rajiv Gandhis decision to undo the Supreme Courts judgment in the Shah Bano case V P Singhs implementation of the Mandal Commission Report P V Narasimha Raos role as prime minister during the Babri Masjid incident and the governments under Atal Bihari Vajpayee and Manmohan Singh are among the topics discussed in the book