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Sadhus opposed to VHP to meet in Ayodhya on Thursday

Sharat Pradhan in Lucknow

Hindu saints opposed to the Vishwa Hindu Parishad will converge in Ayodhya on Thursday to discuss the possibility of an amicable solution to the Ram temple-Babri masjid issue.

The meet will also see the participation of representatives of other religious groups, including Christians, Jains and Sikhs.

"The idea is to evolve a more broad-based consensus on an issue that has been politicised by organisations like the VHP," Dharam Das, the Mahant of Hanuman Garhi, Ayodhya's oldest temple told rediff.com.

Led by the chief priest of the Ramjanmbhoomi makeshift temple, Acharya Satyendra Das, and Dharam Das, this is the first major initiative by Ayodhya-based non-VHP saints towards finding a negotiated settlement.

This meeting follows the failure of efforts in that direction by Swami Jayendra Saraswati, the Shankaracharya of Kanchi Peeth.

On Wednesday, a similar initiative was taken by well-known social activist Dr M A Halim in Lucknow where prominent Islamic clerics and the Ayodhya sadhus sat across the table to discuss ways and means to rebuild mutual confidence and restore communal harmony.

The most prominent among those who participated in what was called an all-religion meeting were the Imam of Lucknow's Idgah Maulana Abu Tayyab Ali Firangimahali and Swami Hari Dayal, the secretary of Vishwa Dharam Raksha Parishad, a rival of the VHP.

Dr Halim who also heads the Muslim Samaj, a social outfit aimed at forging community amity, said, "Our objective is to bring like-minded people on the two sides together to give a thought to serious issues that concern the two communities."

Dayal accused the VHP of 'misappropriating' funds collected in the name of temple construction. "As against total estimated collections Rs 240 million, the VHP had deposited only Rs 60 million in the Ramjanmbhoomi Nyas bank account," he said.

The Ayodhya Issue: Complete Coverage

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