Spiritual guru and Art of Living (AOL) founder Sri Sri Ravi Shankar today said that the only solution to the Ayodhya dispute lies in shifting the mosque to a nearby place and allowing the construction of the Ram Mandir at the disputed site.
At a satsang in Bengaluru, Sri Sri Ravi Shankar, who will on February 20 visit Ayodhya, said that he favours an out-of-court settlement in the decades old case.
He added that all parties, who are in touch with him, are on the same page and are okay with his formula.
“If a mosque is construed at 1 acre land of the 60 acre disputed land, 50,000 policemen will be deployed to guard the mosque. Therefore, it is better that mosque should be construed at a nearby place,” he said.
Ravi Shankar had on Thursday held a meeting here with Muslim leaders including members from the All India Muslim Personal Law Board and Sunni Waqf Board. It was reported that AIMPLB executive member Maulana Syed Salman Hussain Nadvi extended support for construction of the Ram temple at the dispute piece of land and demanded an alternate piece of land for the construction of a mosque.
Also Read: Exclusive: Dictatorship going on in AIMPLB, still stand by what I said on Ayodhya dispute, says Nadvi
However, the AIMPLB at a meeting late last night said that the land dedicated for Masjid cannot be sold, gifted or in any way alienated, reiterating its earlier stand on the Babri Masjid-Ram Janmabhoomi dispute.
In a statement issued later, the board "once again emphasises the basic level of Shariah that the land dedicated for Masjid cannot be sold, gifted or in any way alienated."
Also Read: Ayodhya dispute: AIMPLB rejects Maulana Nadvi’s Ram Mandir compromise formula
Meanwhile, earlier in the day, Haji Mehboob, petitioner in the dispute, met Ravi Shankar and handed over him a letter which says “I am fully supportive of your noble efforts and shall always be available at your call”.
A three-judge bench of the Allahabad High Court, in a 2:1 majority ruling, had in 2010 ordered that the land be partitioned equally among three parties -- the Sunni Waqf Board, the Nirmohi Akhara and Ram Lalla.
