Nirmohi Akhara opposes mosque at Ram Janmabhoomi

While supporting a negotiated settlement of the Ayodhya dispute to avoid another lengthy legal battle, the Nirmohi Akhara has voiced strong opposition to construction of a mosque in close vicinity of the proposed Ram temple.

It was, however, ready to cooperate in the construction of the temple, if given due recognition, reports said on Tuesday.

Media reports quoted Bhaskar Das, Mahant of the Nirmohi Akhara, as informing that Ram Vilas Vedanti, a senior member of the Ram Janmbhoomi Nyas, has contacted him and they had a detailed discussion on the matter.

Das said that the Nirmohi Akhara, which was allotted one-third of the disputed site, was ready to cooperate for the construction of the temple if it gets prominence.

He, however, opposed construction of a mosque near the temple.

?We are not in favour of construction of a mosque on the Ramjanam bhoomi (disputed) site and if the Sunni Wakf Board challenges the High Court order in the Supreme Court, then Nirmohi Akhara and Ramlala Viraajman (one of the litigants) will jointly file a petition,? the Mahant said, as per the media reports.

He added that since the court has rejected the Sunni Wakf Board?s title suit, there was no reason to allot them one-third of the land.

?We are not ready for the construction of the mosque anywhere near Ram Janmbhoomi premises and it should be constructed somewhere else,? Das asserted.

Meanwhile, the initiative by 90-year-old Hashim Ansari for a negotiated settlement has not gone down well with the Muslim litigant.

Expressing displeasure that Ansari?s move, Zafaryab Jilani, counsel of the Sunni Central Waqf Board and Babri Masjid Action Committee (BMAC) convenor, said, ?Ansari is just an individual litigant; he is no authority on behalf of the Waqf Board which is the key contestant.?

Ansari has started talks with Mahant Gyan Das, president of All India Akhara Parishad for an out-of-settlement of the issue.

Mahant Bhaskar Das has also welcomed the initiative.

?I welcome the initiative taken by Mahant Gyan Das and Hashim Ansari and will be only too glad to be a party to the move for bringing the dispute to an amicable settlement and avoid another unending court battle,? Das said.

Ansari was the first Muslim to stake a legal claim to the Babri Masjid after it was usurped by Hindu mobs on the intervening night of December 22-23, 1949.

On the other hand, Nirmohi Akhara sought legal right to offer prayers at the disputed site way back in 1885.

Treading cautiously on the communal minefield, a three-member Lucknow bench of the Allahabad High Court on Thursday (September 30) passed a verdict upholding the Hindu claim that the disputed site is the birthplace of Lord Rama but ruled that the land would be divided into three parts with one third going to the Muslims along with one third for the Hindus.

Rejecting the Sunni Waqf Board and Nirmohi Akhara?s title suit, the Lucknow bench of Allahabad High Court on Thursday said Hindu deity Lord Ram was born indeed on the disputed Ayodhya site, bringing a temporary closure on the 60-year-old dispute since the judgement can now be challenged in the Supreme Court.