A day before his visit to Ayodhya, spiritual guru Sri Sri Ravi Shankar met Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath and several other Hindu leaders on Wednesday in a quest to find an amicable solution to Ram Janmabhoomi – Babri Masjid tangle and expressed hope of finding a solution to the vexed issue.
On Wednesday morning, Ravi Shankar met the Chief Minister at his official residence for almost 40 minutes and later went to the Old City residence of BJP sympathiser Amarnath Mishra where he met BJP MP Vinay Katiyar. He later met Hindu Mahasabha leader Chakrapani and Mahant Suresh Das.
But surprisingly, no Muslim leader or their representatives met the Art of living guru, who has initiated to mediate in the Ayodhya dispute on his own.
“Sri Sri Ravi Shankar is a spiritual Guru and we respect him. First, he should explain whom he is representing and float a proposal, if he has any, on solving the Ayodhya issue, then only we can discuss,” said All India Muslim Personnel law Board convener Zafaryab Jilani on Wednesday.
Sri Sri responded by saying: “I have come to listen to all stake holders. let’s see what happens. Tomorrow, I will visit Ayodhya and meet the seers and others who are involved in this decade-old controversy. I can say anything only after returning from Ayodhya."
During his meet with Chief Minister, Sri Sri discussed possibility of resolving the issue through a dialogue. Sources told this reporter that Sri Sri informed Yogi that representatives of Nirmohi Akhara and other claimants met him recently and invited him to visit Ayodhya.
The CM also favoured a resolution of this issue through dialogue saying though the government is not a party to this issue but it would be better if it was resolved through a dialogue.
After meeeting Sri Sri at Amarnath Mishra's Chowk residence, BJP MP Vinay Katiyar said that he would not compromise on Ram temple issue and wanted the proposed mosque to be built outside the disputed area.
"There is a Ram temple at the site and we just want to build a grand temple there. There is no question of any mosque near the temple," he said.
However, Mishra, while informing the media about the meeting of Sri Sri and other Hindu leaders, said that the talks only revolved around measures to be taken to remove hurdles for an out-of-court settlement.
Sri Sri Ravi Shankar will leave for Ayodhya on Thursday morning where he will meet Shri Ramjanmabhoomi Nyas chairman Mahant Nritya Gopal Das at Maniram Chavni. later, he will meet other members of the Nyas including Ramvilas Vedanti.
Sri Sri is also expected to meet petitoner late Hashim Ansari's son Iqbal Ansari, Mahant Ramdas of Nirmohi Akhara and Jagatgurj Ramanujachayara Swami Sridharacharya at Ashrafi Bhawan. The guru is expected to return to lucknow late Thursday night.