Vajpayee expressed anguish at the demolition but an intelligence video of his speech in Lucknow, given a day before the demolition (which surfaced in 2005 and was accessed by Outlook magazine), seems to suggest he was aware that it might happen. Speaking to kar sevaks, Vajpayee, in his trademark style, without any reference to the masjid, said, ‘The Supreme Court has allowed bhajan–kirtan. One man cannot perform bhajan alone. And kirtan cannot be performed standing up. How long can we stand? Sharp stones are emerging from the ground. No one can sit on them. The ground has to be levelled
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