The All-India Muslim Personal Law Board (AIMPLB) has denied that there is any move for a meeting between its representatives and the Kanchi Sankaracharya, Sri Jayendra Saraswathi, at Kancheepuram on October 17 on the Ayodhya issue.
AIMPLB assistant secretary-general and spokesman Maulana Abdur Rahim Qureshi categorically said the Board had not authorised any of its representatives to meet the Sankaracharya.
“There is no proposal from the Board's side to open a channel of communication with the Sankaracharya,” he told The Hindu .
The convener of the AIMPLB's Babri Masjid Legal Committee, Syed Qasim Rasool Ilyas, too, denied knowledge of any such move. Mr. Ilyas said that by virtue of his post, he would have been the first person to know about the proposal had there been any.
“The Sunni Central Waqf Board has already decided to file an appeal in the Supreme Court against the September 30 verdict of the Allahabad High Court in the Ayodhya title suits case, and the AIMPLB's move would be announced at its working committee meeting in Lucknow on October 16.”
Talks between the Sankaracharya and AIMPLB president Maulana Rabey Hasni Nadwi for an out-of-court settlement of the Ayodhya dispute had taken place in 2003, but the discussions were inconclusive.
Meanwhile, the initiative for an amicable solution to the Ayodhya row gained ground following a meeting between a representative of Yoga guru Ramdev and Akhil Bharatiya Akhara Parishad chief Swami Gyan Das at Ayodhya on Sunday.
Lauding the efforts of Swami Das and Hashim Ansari, the oldest litigant in the case, Swami Ramdev's representative told Swami Das that they would be felicitated by the Yoga guru at Hardwar on November 19.
Another meeting took place between a retired Allahabad High Court judge, Pulok Basu, and Swami Das at Ayodhya on Sunday.
