New Delhi: Congress on Thursday steered clear of any comment on President Pranab Mukherjee's book in which he has written about the turbulent years between 1980 and 1996 that saw opening of the Ram Janmabhoomi temple site and demolition of Babri Masjid.


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"President is the first citizen. We respect him. We have not gone through the book. We will say anything only after studying it," party's chief spokesman Randeep Surjewala told reporters.


He was asked whether the Congress agreed with the statements of Mukherjee, who was a senior party leader before becoming the President, on a host of contentious issues.


In the book released today, Mukherjee has said the opening of Ram Janmabhoomi temple site in Ayodhya was an "error of judgement" by Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi.


Besides, he has said the demolition of Babri Masjid was an act of "absolute perfidy" that destroyed India's image.


"The opening of the Ram Janmabhoomi temple site on 1 February 1986 was perhaps another error of judgement. People felt these actions could have been avoided," the President has written in the book titled "The Turbulent Years: 1980-96".