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AIBMAC rules out talks on Ayodhya

Representatives of Muslim bodies demanding restoration of the Babri Mosque do not see the possibility of any out-of-court settlement on the contentious Ram Janmbhoomi-Babri Masjid issue that has been keeping the nation on tenterhooks for years.

The All India Babri Masjid Action Committee and other key litigants in the legal tangle, hanging fire before the Lucknow bench of the Allahabad High Court, have refuted Bajrang Dal leader Vinay Katiyar's claim that they had agreed to go in for a negotiated settlement.

While AIBMAC convenor Zafaryab Jilani ruled out even looking at an out-of-court settlement, Mohammad Hashim Ansari, the oldest litigant in the case, told the Bajrang Dal leader in no uncertain terms "to have the deity of Lord Ram taken away from the disputed site" before thinking of embarking on such an alternative remedy.

Jilani saw a "sinister design" behind Katiyar's "orchestrated campaign" on resolving the Ayodhya dispute through talks.

The octogenarian Ansari told rediff.com, "I fail to understand what gave Katiyar the idea that we would fall in line with whatever this Member of Parliament from Faizabad would say," Ansari asked. "Katiyar somehow insisted on having a closed door meeting exclusively with me; I promptly understood what he actually meant, so I decided to keep him at arm's length."

Flaying Katiyar for posing himself as some important representative of Hindus, he said, "Katiyar is nothing more than a local MP for me and I am sure this is not a matter that could be decided by him."

Hashim charged Katiyar with sending all kinds of feelers to accept some illegal gratification.

"Katiyar sent enough hints to buy me off, but I made it absolutely clear to him that he was trying to dial the wrong number; on his insistence for coming down to the negotiating table, I told him that this could be possible only after he got the idols taken away from the disputed site and also got cases filed on behalf of various Hindu bodies formally withdrawn," he pointed out.

Jilani also clarified that BMAC's meeting on Sunday had nothing to do with Katiyar's statements on a negotiated settlement. "Our meeting had been scheduled long back and it was meant to review the situation" he said, adding, "We will fully abide by the court verdict in the matter."

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