Key Ayodhya players against VHP meddling-Oct 10, 2010,

Key Ayodhya players against VHP meddling

Manjari Mishra, TNN, Oct 10, 2010, 04.49am IST


LUCKNOW: The backdoor entry of Ram Janmabhoomi Nirman Uchchadhikar Samiti, an apex body of the the Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP), into ongoing peace negotiations in Ayodhya has left main participants fuming. In a sharp rebuke to mediators on Saturday, the chief of Nirmohi Akhara, Mahant Bhaskar Das, has threatened to distance himself from attempts at politicising what is essentially an apolitical exercise.

"The akhara" he stressed, "will not be led by the diktat of the samiti" even as the head of the Akhil Bharatiya Akhara Parishad Mahant Gyan Das has dittoed the line signalling clearly that hijacking the mandir plot may not be easy this time for the VHP and other members of Sangh Parivar.

The strong reaction comes in the wake of former BJP MP and senior VHP leader Ram Vilas Vedanti's announcement on Friday that the compromise formula would be implemented only after the samiti gave it a nod. On Friday, Vedanti had participated in talks with Hashim Ansari Mahant Gyan Das and Swami Ramdas - an emissary of ailing Mahant Bhaskar Das - to reach a compromise formula.

Talking to TOI on Saturday, Mahant Bhaskar Das said that Nirmohi Akhara did not require any sanction from the Uchchadhikar Samiti for working out a formula for 'mandir nirman'. The Samiti could neither issue us guidelines nor approve or run down our suggestions, he said. "Akharas," he said, "have their own hierarchy and are therefore not obliged to seek permission from any outfit outside our discipline. "


Read more: Key Ayodhya players against VHP meddling - The Times of India