Hopeful that obstacles to Ram temple construction would wither

The Akhil Bharat Hindu Mahasabha today expressed the hope that all obstacles to building a Ram Temple at the disputed site in Ayodhya would "wither away" and people would witness its construction very soon.

The remarks by the outfit's chief Chandra Parakash Kaushik comes amid reports of proposal of mediation talks by Art of Living founder Sri Sri Ravi Shankar on the issue.

Members of the Akhil Bharat Hindu Mahasabha and Nirmohi Akhara met Ravi Shankar at his Bengaluru ashram.

"We are hopeful that all the obstacles in building Ram Temple will wither away and very soon a gigantic Ram Mandir will be built at Ayodhya," Kaushik said. "The meeting with Gurudev was fruitful."
 

The meeting comes weeks after Uttar Pradesh Shia Central Waqf Board chairman Waseem Rizvi met Ravi Shankar in Bengaluru and apprised him of the Board's stand that a Ram temple should be built at the disputed site.

In a bid to resolve the Ayodhya issue, Ravi Shankar had reportedly met Nirmohi Akhara leaders and Muslim law board members recently.

Though the All India Muslim Personal Law Board (AIMPLB) is not a party to the case, being the apex Islamic body on religious and personal matters, it wields considerable influence among the community.

Asked to throw light on the "obstacles" discussed during the meeting, Kaushik said he would not like to speak about them, though the three main stakeholders have agreed on construction of the Ram Temple.

"There are three parties -- Nirmohi Akhara, Hindu Mahasabha and Sunni Waqf Board. These three parties have been recognised by the Allahabad High Court and they all have agreed for construction of Ram Temple. Other stakeholders or parties have come after 1949," he said.

Rizvi has said the demolished mosque belonged to the Shia Waqf and the AIMPLB had no right to decide on it and conveyed it to Ravi Shankar.

To a query, Kaushik said there were no representation from the Sunni Waqf Board in the meeting.

Ravi Shankar has been holding continuous talks with other Muslim leaders including Sunnis, "and hence it is not necessary for all of us to be present at a time," he said.

The Allahabad High Court, in 2010, had ruled a three-way division of the disputed 2.77-acre area at Ayodhya among Sunni Waqf Board, Nirmohi Akhara and Lord Ram Lalla.