Sacred city of Ayodhya has welcomed the Supreme Court's suggestion for an out of court settlement of Ram temple dispute. The parties to the dispute have agreed to it but with a rider—they want the dialogue under the aegis of the Chief Justice of India or a bench comprising the SC judges. They also ruled out mediation by political parties or any other outfit.
In 2010, Lucknow bench of Allahabad high court, while delivering its verdict, had divided 2.77 acre of the disputed land of the temple into three parts. Each part had gone to Hindu Mahasabha (Ramlala Virajman), Islamic Sunni Waqf Board and Nirmohi Akhara, a Hindu religious sect. Subsequently Waqf Board and Nirmohi Akhara moved the Supreme Court.
The dispute had reached court 132 years ago and the hearing has been going on for past 67 years.
Ayodhya-based Iqbal Ansari, son of late Hashim Ansari, a party in the case representing the Muslims, said, “We want the matter to be resolved. We will discuss with our men; parties should sit together and find out the solution.”
Ram Das, who belongs to Nirmohi Akhara, said, “For the dialogue, a panel should be constituted under the Chief Justice of India (CJI). There should not be any outside interference; dialogue should be strictly restricted between the parties.”
Triloki Nath Pandey, who represents Ramlalla Virajman, another party in the case, said, “It would be better if Supreme Court invites all the parties for the dialogue. Parties could be represented by their lawyers too, but no outsiders should be allowed.”
However, the Vishva Hindu Parishad has not shown much interest in settling the dispute in this way. The VHP is of the opinion that a law should be passed in parliament for construction of the temple.
VHP’s Ayodhya-based spokesperson Sharad Sharma said, “Earlier, too many attempts have been made to settle the dispute through dialogue, but it failed to reach any solution. The only way to resolve it is through a law made by parliament.”
It remains to be seen which way the wind will blow in future. However, temple construction debates have gathered steam in Uttar Pradesh after the formation of Yogi Adityanath-led BJP government in the state.
