Kerala Chief Minister V S Achuthanandan on Wednesday in  Thiruvananthapuram,  asked the Centre to "show courage" to ensure exemplary punishment to those responsible for the Babri masjid demolition in the wake of Liberhan Commission findings and said Congress should also admit its mistake on the issue.

"The responsibility of the Centre is not over by presenting the report of the M S Liberhan Commission in the Parliament," Achuthanandan told reporters, adding that it should also "show courage" to ensure exemplary punishment to those responsible for the masjid demolition.

Congress was in power at the time and Prime Minister Manmohan Singh was the finance minister then in the P V Narasimha Rao government, he said, adding that Congress leadership should admit their mistake to the nation.

He accused the then Congress government of not doing anything to prevent the demolition of the masjid even though the Central intelligence had informed the Centre on the "happenings (prior to it)".

The Centre should take all steps to prevent the recurrence of such incidents, the CPI(M) veteran said.

Accusing the Sangh Parivar of destroying "India's heart" and triggering communal passion and Hindu-Muslim tension by demolishing the mosque, he said the spiritual and political leadership were equally answerable for the incident.

The Commission had mentioned the "role" of former prime minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee, senior BJP leader L K Advani and other party leaders, he added. PTI