M A I N   N E W S

Govt ready to broker Ayodhya settlement
Tribune News Service

New Delhi, January 9
Deputy Prime Minister L.K. Advani today called upon Hindus and Muslims to arrive at an amicable settlement of the Ayodhya issue. The Centre was ready to facilitate a negotiated settlement of the issue, he added.

Welcoming Dalai Lama's appeal for settlement of the issue through “a mature, farsighted and open-minded” approach, he said the government would not only encourage, but also participate in any such serious and reasonable effort.

“I am sure the Hindu organisations which are endeavouring to build a Ram temple will also be keen to settle the issue by dialogue,” he said.

He said if Muslims came forward to cooperate with Hindus in fulfilling their aspiration of building a Ram temple at “Ram Janmasthaan,” Hindus should also step forward to remove the concerns from the minds of Muslims.

He said the recent breakthrough in Islamabad between India and Pakistan was not considered as a matter of “victory or loss” by either party. “If a similar approach is adopted to resolve the Ayodhya issue by the two communities, it will be good for the nation,” he said.

He said the government and the BJP would persuade those, who had launched the Ayodhya movement to participate in dialogue for an amicable settlement of the issue.

He said like the government's initiative with Pakistan, which had started a new chapter in relations between the two countries, solution to the Ayodhya issue would also start a new chapter in the relations between the two communities in the country.

Asked whether the government was thinking of involving Dalai Lama as a mediator, Mr Advani replied in the negative.

No invitation yet, says Advani
Tribune News Service

New Delhi, January 9
Deputy Prime Minister L.K. Advani today said he had only seen media reports about being invited to Pakistan for discussions on an extradition treaty but nothing formal had been received by India so far.

Talking informally to mediapersons at his residence this morning, Mr Advani said he had read about it only in newspapers.

Pakistani Interior Minister Fasal Saleh Hayat had been quoted as saying that he wanted to invite Mr Advani to discuss, among other things, an extradition treaty between the countries.