In a broadside against the Congress establishment during late Prime Minister P V Narasimha Rao's tenure, Rahul Gandhi claimed that the Babri Masjid would not have been demolished had the Gandhi family been active in politics at that time.

He also dubbed the Congress' alliance with BSP in Uttar Pradesh in 1996 as a "sell out".

"Had the Gandhi family been there in politics (at that time), Babri Masjid demolition would not have taken place," Rahul said on the second day of his election campaign in Uttar Pradesh.

No member of the Gandhi family was active in politics at the time of the demolition in 1992.

"My father said to my mother that he would stand in front of Babri Masjid if it will do any good. They would have had to kill him first," Rahul recalled.

On the reasons for Congress' decline in UP, Rahul said the blame should be put on the party's alliance with BSP.

"The 1996 alliance in Uttar Pradesh destroyed the party in the state. This alliance was not an alliance but a virtual sell-out of the party in the state," he said.