[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]The BJP downplayed it and the Muslim bodies, too, rebuffed it, while the Art of Living founder Sri Sri Ravi Shankar and Shia Waqf Board claimed that their attempt at playing mediator to resolve the Ayodhya dispute is neither a publicity stunt nor is it politically motivated.<\/p>\n
Questioning their intentions, as none of them is a party in the case, the stakeholders in the Ayodhya case slammed Sri Sri Ravi Shankar and Waseem Rizvi of Shia Waqf Board, the two who have been talking of arriving at a reconciliation formula.<\/p>\n
Ravi Shankar met Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath <\/a>in Lucknow ahead of his visit to Ayodhya on Thursday, a meeting described by a senior state official as a \u201ccourtesy meeting\u201d which lasted about 15-20 minutes and went off well.<\/p>\n \u201cAs far as the Ayodhya issue is concerned, Adityanath\u2019s stand is very clear. The state government is not a party. We welcome any settlement and will honour the decision of the court,\u201d he said, according to media reports.<\/p>\n This was more in accordance with the line taken by senior RSS functionary Ram Madhav, who is now BJP national general secretary. Madhav Wednesday downplayed Ravi Shankar\u2019s visit to Ayodhya. He said first the legal process should be allowed to be completed in the Supreme Court, and only after that should other options be explored.<\/p>\n Speaking to ANI, Madhav said, \u201cThe legal proceedings are at an advanced stage in the Supreme Court right now. We all should allow the legal process to be completed in the Supreme Court. Once that’s done, then other options can be explored. So right now the matter should be left for Supreme Court to decide.\u201d<\/p>\n Earlier, Adityanath had welcomed Ravi Shankar\u2019s move and said that any such move to mediate between the two parties was welcome. Adityanath said that talks were the only way out to find a solution to the dispute. He said that if no consensus is reached through talks, the court will take a decision on Ayodhya.<\/p>\n \u201cTalks had begun earlier also and one party always excluded itself from it, so the problem is not that there should be talks, but that both parties should agree to it. Good results can come out of such talks, but the intention should be right,\u201d Adityanath had earlier said.<\/p>\n That seems to have changed now. Besides the BJP, the Sunni Board and the All India Muslim Personal Law Board (AIMPLB) also rebuffed the mediation efforts, saying Ravi Shankar had no legal standing on the Ayodhya matter and hence they had decided to reject his offer for a dialogue on the issue.<\/p>\n On the other hand, escalating the mediation move, Home Minister Rajnath Singh also met Muslim and Sufi clerics in the national capital for talks over the Ayodhya matter.<\/p>\n Ravi Shankar has refuted his critics’ claim that his efforts to mediate in the matter were influenced by the governments and has repeatedly stated that he was doing it “at his own will”.<\/p>\n Earlier this week, Ravi Shankar had said in Delhi that he was involved as a mediator in the Ram Temple dispute of his own will and would visit Ayodhya on November 16 to meet all stakeholders. He said he did not have an agenda and would listen to everybody.<\/p>\n Initiating his mediation effort, Ravi Shankar last month met Uttar Pradesh Shia Waqf Board Chief Wasim Rizvi in Bengaluru regarding the issue and Rizvi had described his meeting with the spiritual leader as \u201cvery positive\u201d. Rizvi had said, \u201cWe are the real stakeholders here,\u201d adding that the board welcomes Sri Sri\u2019s initiative. He went on to say that the construction of the Ram Temple can begin as early as 2018.<\/p>\n On Monday, Waseem Rizvi and Ravi Shankar held a meeting on the Ayodhya issue after the former met saints in Ayodhya and leaders of the Akhada Parishad in Allahabad. Soon after his meeting, Rizvi, along with Narendra Giri, announced that the reconciliation was done. He further declared Ram temple will be built in Ayodhya, while the mosque will be constructed in the Muslim-dominated Ayodhya-Faizabad area.<\/p>\n However, while Art of living founder Sri Sri Ravi Shankar <\/a>met Adityanath on Wednesday, the Shia Personal Law Board clarified that the Board does not agree to the claims made by the Shia Waqf Board. The Board labelled the claims made by Shia Waqf Board Chairman Waseem Rizvi as a publicity stunt.<\/p>\n All India Shia Personal Law Board member, Maulana Yasoob Abbas told News18, \u201cSettlement is good, but how can you say that you are giving up the mosque land? A mosque is the house of Allah and the All India Shia Personal Law Board is certainly not ready to give up the mosque land. The Board certainly does not agree to what Waseem Rizvi or the Shia Waqf Board has claimed.\u201d<\/p>\n The efforts for mediation in Ayodhya <\/a>dispute have thus received a cold reception.<\/p>\n