Chandigarh, Nov 24 (IANS) The former counsel to the Liberhan Commission alleged Tuesday that the indictment of former prime minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee for the Babri mosque razing was 'outrightly illegal'.

Hours after the Liberhan report was placed in parliament, Anupam Gupta said this had been done deliberately to shift the focus away from Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader L.K. Advani, who he said played a key role in the events that led to mosque demolition on Dec 6, 1992.

Gupta said that naming of Vajpayee as one of 68 people culpable for the mosque razing -- in the company of Hindutva veterans as Advani and Murli Manohar Joshi -- without even examining him was 'outrightly illegal'.

Gupta also took exception to the manner Advani has been named as one of the 68, who include leading lights of the BJP, Vishwa Hindu Parishad, Rashtriya Swayamsewak Sangh, Sant Samaj and Shiv Sena.

'I am appalled,' he said, adding that Advani's role in the events leading to the mosque razing 'is far more than as a member of the herd. He was the most important leader dealing with and leading the Ayodhya movement'.