Akhara Parishad wants political parties out of talks | Times of India

hinduismnow

8 years ago

ALLAHABAD: Akhil Bharatiya Akhara Parishad has welcomed the suggestion of the Supreme Court to make fresh attempts to solve the Ayodhya issue amicably through negotiations. It was ready to bring both the parties together for talk, the Parishad added.

The Parishad comprises 13 akharas (religious order) to which saints across the globe are affiliated.

A bench headed by Chief Justice JS Khehar, while hearing a petition filed by Subramanian Swamy, on Tuesday said such religious issues could only be solved through negotiations and offered to mediate to arrive at an amicable settlement.

Akhara Parishad president Narendra Giri told TOI that the Parishad had been urging settlement of Ram temple issue through talks rather than forcibly building the temple at Ayodhya. Giri heads Baghambari Math and Niranjani Akhara. He said the construction of a temple or mosque at the site without approval of Hindus or Muslims would lead to resentment among the disgruntled section. “We believe that the issue can be resolved only if political parties are kept out,” Giri said.

The Akhara Parishad claimed it had started negotiations with one of the oldest litigants in the case, Hashim An sari in May, 2016. Ansari, however, passed away on July 20, 2016 before an out of court settlement could be reached.

“Hashim was like a father figure to me and we both were engaged in talks to settle the temple issue without surrendering our rights,” said Giri.”Seers used to find in Hashim Ansari a person who believed in easing communal tension between communities.”