In the late 1980s , the Bharatiya Janata Party ( BJP ) brought the Ram Janmabhoomi issue to the centrestage of national politics , and the BJP and VHP began organising larger protests in Ayodhya and around the country Members of the Vishva Hindu Parishad ( VHP ) demolished the Babri Mosque ( which was constructed by Mir Baqi , a general of India 's first Mughal Emperor , Babur ) in Ayodhya on 6 December 1992 . The site is the alleged birthplace of the Hindu God Rama . The destruction of the disputed structure , which was widely reported in the international media , unleashed large scale communal violence , the most extensive since the Partition of India . Hindus and Muslims were indulged in massive rioting across the country , and almost every major city including Delhi , Mumbai , Kolkata , Ahmedabad , Hyderabad , Bhopal struggled to control the unrest . Later Liberhan Commission , after extensive hearing and investigation , exonerated PV Narasimha Rao . It pointed out that Rao was heading a minority government , the Commission accepted the centre 's submission that central forces could neither be deployed by the Union in the totality of facts and circumstances then prevailing , nor could President 's Rule be imposed " on the basis of rumours or media reports " . Taking such a step would have created " bad precedent " damaging the federal structure and would have " amounted to interference " in the state administration , it said . The state " deliberately and consciously understated " the risk to the disputed structure and general law and order . It also said that the Governor 's assessment of the situation was either badly flawed or overly optimistic and was thus a major impediment for the central government . The Commission further said , " ... knowing fully well that its facetious undertakings before the Supreme Court had bought it sufficient breathing space , it ( state government ) proceeded with the planning for the destruction of the disputed structure . The Supreme Court 's own observer failed to alert it to the sinister undercurrents . The Governor and its intelligence agencies , charged with acting as the eyes and ears of the central government also failed in their task . Without substantive procedural prerequisites , neither the Supreme Court , nor the Union of India was able to take any meaningful steps . " In yet another discussion with journalist Shekhar Gupta , Rao answered several of the questions on the demolition . He said he was wary of the impact of hundreds of deaths on the nation , and it could have been far worse . And also he had to consider the scenario in which some of the troops might have turned around and joined the mobs instead . Regarding dismissal of Kalyan Singh ( government ) , he said , " mere dismissal does not mean you can take control . It takes a day or so appointing advisers , sending them to Lucknow , taking control of the state . Meanwhile , what had to happen would have happened and there would have been no Kalyan Singh to blame either . " In 1993 , a strong earthquake in Latur , Maharashtra killed nearly 10,000 people and displaced hundreds of thousands . Rao was applauded by many for using modern technology and resources to organise major relief operations to assuage the stricken people , and for schemes of economic reconstruction
strong earthquake in Latur
1993 Latur earthquake
P. V. Narasimha Rao