The Hindu : Puri seer for judicial solution

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Saturday, Jun 14, 2003

National

National

Puri seer for judicial solution

By Shujaat Bukhari

SRINAGAR JUNE 13. The Shankaracharya of Puri, Swami Adhokshjanand Dev, today favoured a solution to the Ayodhya issue through the court and said its verdict should be final and binding. He equated the Rashtriya Swayamsewak Sangh and the Vishwa Hindu Parishad with the militant outfits, the Lashkar-e-Taiba and the Jaish-e-Mohammad.

The Puri seer, who concluded his two-day visit to Kashmir today, told a news conference that if the court directed that a temple be built, no one can stop the Hindus from doing so. "But if it says that a mosque should be erected, we would ensure it is built at all costs. The court decision is final."

He claimed that his view had been endorsed by both Muslim and Hindu religious leaders. "By being subservient to the Supreme Court, there won't be any bitter feelings between the two communities. We should go by the Constitution of the country."

He said the Sankaracharya of Kanchi Mutt, Sri Jayendra Saraswati, did not have any authority to speak on the Ayodhya issue. "He is nobody in Ayodhya and we don't recognise what he subscribes on the issue. People who are subservient to political bosses and political ideologies have no role in this." The March 9, 2002 Joint Declaration was the best key to clinch the issue once for all, he added.

Printer friendly page
Send this article to Friends by E-Mail

National