One of the eight Muslim litigants in the Babri Masjid-Ram Janmabhoomi title suit Mohammad Hashim Ansari took a personal initiative to untangle the Ayodhya issue after the Allahabad High Court verdict on Thursday.
He met Mahant Gyan Das, the president of the Akhara Parishad and sought mediation to resolve the issue before it goes to the Supreme Court.
Ansari took the step in view of the verdict by the Lucknow Bench of the Allahabad High Court that granted one-third of the 2.77 acres of land at the disputed site to each of the three parties in the dispute and suggested that they resolve the matter among themselves within three months.
Ansari said, “At this point in time there are two options -- to go to the Supreme Court or to resolve it among ourselves. So, why not try to resolve it by ourselves? The Supreme Court option is always open.”
The meeting took place at Gyan Das’s room near Hanuman Garhi temple, where he is one of the four mahants. “Hashim (Ansari) has been a good friend for years. I love and respect him. I welcomed him as a friend and he sought my mediation. He expects me to talk to various Hindu and Muslim religion leaders,” Das said.
Ansari claimed that the Sunni Central Waqf Board had authorised him to talk to the Nirmohi Akhara to discuss a settlement but board counsel Zafaryab Jilani denied this. “Nobody has authorised Mohammad Hashim Ansari in this matter and he is speaking in his individual capacity,” Jilani told HT. Jilani said Ansari does not even represent other Muslim individuals who were parties to the title suits.
{{/usCountry}}Ansari claimed that the Sunni Central Waqf Board had authorised him to talk to the Nirmohi Akhara to discuss a settlement but board counsel Zafaryab Jilani denied this. “Nobody has authorised Mohammad Hashim Ansari in this matter and he is speaking in his individual capacity,” Jilani told HT. Jilani said Ansari does not even represent other Muslim individuals who were parties to the title suits.
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