Lucknow: The road to mutual consent of stakeholders on the Ayodhya issue seems to have gotten more entangled after mediation initiatives by Spiritual Guru, Sri Sri Ravi Shankar, and Shia Waqf Board Chairman, Waseem Rizvi.
There were 21 original stakeholders in the Babri Masjid dispute, but many have died. The recent initiatives by Sri Sri to initiate a dialogue seems to have aggravated the already prickly topic.
Although Sri Sri has stated that his move is not politically motivated, stakeholder Dharmdas remains sceptical. “The hearing in the case is soon going to start, and it will be clear who is doing politics and who is creating obstacles in the construction of Ram Temple,” he said.
Former BJP MP, Ram Vilas Vedanti, who was associated with the Ram temple movement, has refused to accept the mediation offered by Sri Sri, saying, “Sri Sri’s mediation is not acceptable to us, regardless of what he claims. The fight for Ram Janambhoomi was undertaken by Ram Janambhoomi Nyas and Vishwa Hindu Parishad. These two parties should be invited for dialogue,” he said.
On the other hand, All India Akhada Parishad Chief, Mahant Narendra Giri has also come forward to mediate talks for the mutual consent of the stakeholders. “Only if the stakeholders are ready to talk, will something work out. Sri Sri is no saint, he runs an NGO and that’s his work. The Ram Temple issue is out of question for him. He should concentrate on his NGO work,” Giri said.
The Shia Waqf Board Chairman has also thrown his hat into the fray, despite not being a party to the case. He added a new angle to the narrative claiming that the Babri Masjid was made on Shia land, hence the Waqf Board needed to be made a party.
On Monday, Waseem Rizvi and Sri Sri held a meeting on the Ayodhya issue, after the former met saints in Ayodhya and leaders of the Akhada Parishad in Allahabad.
After his meeting, Rizvi, along with Narendra Giri, announced that the reconciliation was done and declared that as per the understanding, the Ram temple will be built in Ayodhya, while the mosque will be constructed in the Muslim-dominated Ayodhya-Faizabad area.
Reacting sharply to the statement, Mohammad Iqbal, a party in the issue, said that Rizvi was of no importance as he is not a stakeholder. He further accused Rizvi of politics and entangling the issue further. “Whenever there will be talks, it’ll be between stakeholders. Outsiders, like Waseem Rizvi, should stay and not complicate it further,” said Iqbal.
Another stakeholder, Haji Mehboob has also strongly opposed Waseem Rizvi, questioning, “Who is Waseem Rizvi to speak on the issue? What kind of negotiations is he talking about? Why should we or anyone speak to him in this case? Only four to five stakeholders out of the original 21 are still alive. Waseem Rizvi is just trying to grab media attention.”
Interestingly, the stakeholders also consider Narendra Giri an outsider. “Mahant Narendra Giri is a religious teacher and not a party in the case, but for any kind of agreement, dialogues between stakeholders is needed. In the absence of any stakeholder the claims and talks have no meaning,” said Haji Mehboob.
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