Ayodhya, March 16
A day after the peaceful conduct of the shila daan ceremony, the Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP), which is spearheading the Ayodhya movement, today stressed that it was the responsibility of Parliament to find a solution to this vexed issue as it could not be resolved through courts.

Parliament is the supreme body of the country and all political parties cutting across their ideological barrier should try to find a solution to the Ayodhya issue as courts could not give judgement on issues pertaining to faith, VHP Joint Secretary Ranjender Kumar Pankaj told The Tribune soon after a two-and-a-half hours meeting of top VHP leaders here at Karsevakpuram late this evening.

Asked about the commitment the VHP had given to the government through Shankaracharya Jayendra Saraswati of Kanchi Kamakoti Peetam that it would abide by the court verdict on the disputed site, Mr Pankaj said although our assurance had lost its meaning with the rejection of the Shankaracharya formula by the All-India Muslim Personal Law Board (AIMPLB), a formal statement in that regard would be issued by the VHP leaders only after they had a word with Shankaracharya.

When asked whether the VHP was ready for negotiation with Muslim bodies to resolve the issue, Mr Pankaj said, "We were ready to talk to any Muslim representative body which was party to the Ayodhya case, but were not ready to talk with AIMPLB."

Meanwhile, he said the purnahuti yajana would continue to be perfomed at Karsevakpuram till June 2 and Ram sevaks from across the country would participate in it in a peaceful manner once the restrictions were removed and trains and bus services were restored.

Asked to comment on the storming of the Orissa Assembly by the VHP and Bajrang Dal activists, Mr Pankaj said, "We have not got the complete report, but we have appealed to all VHP activists not to violate law and participate in VHP activities in a peaceful manner."

The sudden change in the attitude of the VHP and their insistence on negotiated settlement of the issue seems to be a calculated move to block the Opposition wrath on the Vajpayee government.

BJP MP from Faizabad Vinay Katiyar, who has been closely involved in the temple movement, also endorsed the VHP viewpoint saying that the Supreme Court had faced humiliation when even it had pronounced judgement on cases which were based on religious belief so, it would be better for the Supreme Court to keep away from cases where the faith of people was involved.

To buttress his viewpoint, Mr Katiyar said the Supreme Court had to bite the dust as its judgement on Uniform Civil Code was not implemented. The local MP, who played a crucial role yesterday in the peaceful conduct of shila daan ceremony, also had a piece of advice for the government and politicians as far as the construction of the temple was concerned. If they want lasting peace in the country, leaders of all political parties should sit together to find an out-of-court settlement on the issue, he said.

More than the government and the local people the Ram Janmabhoomi Nyas (RJN) and VHP leaders seemed to be more happy over the peaceful conduct of shila daan ceremony because any flare up would have brought a bad name to these organisations and would have become a big headache for the Vajpayee government and the Opposition would have got an opportunity to pin down the Centre.

“We executed our programme as per schedule and in an extremely peaceful manner and have proved that the entire drastic security arrangements made by the administration, due to mounting pressure from opposition parties, a futile exercise”, RJN chief Mahant Ramchander Das Paramhans said.

Top leaders of the VHP, including its International Working President Ashok Singhal and senior leader Acharya Giriraj Kishore today held a meeting to review the post-shila daan scenario and to decide on the future course of action at Karsevakpuram this evening.

Meanwhile, life in Ayodhya was limping back to normal even as the district administration is yet to formally lift the prohibitory orders. All shops and other business establishments remained open in the twin cities of Faizabad and Ayodhya and people were moving in their private vehicles freely.

However, the city administration has not permitted the entry of buses, trucks and other four-wheelers into the city. The security in and around the acquired land and disputed site has also not been scaled down although policemen have stopped search and checking.