VHP seers meet in Ayodhya to decide on road ahead

AYODHYA - The Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) has convened a meeting of leading seers here Wednesday to decide on the road ahead after the verdict on the Ramjanmabhoomi-Babri Masjid dispute.

The 41-member central committee of seers will assemble at the Karsewak Puram camp. Amongst those participating in the meet will be Jyotishpeeth Shankaracharya Swami Vasudevanand Saraswati, Gorakshpeeth chief Mahant Awaidhyanath, Ramjanmabhoomi Trust president Mahant Nritya Gopal Das, Swami Chinmayanand and the Ayodhya-based Mahant Ram Vilas Vedanti who is also a former BJP MP.

VHP supremo Ashok Singhal, with second-in-command Praveenbhai Togadia in attendance, will head the meeting.

This would be followed by a larger conference of Ayodhya seers on Thursday.

“Today’s meeting is significant as it is the first time after the high court pronounced its verdict in the Ayodhya case that so many Hindu saints are assembling under the VHP banner,” said VHP spokesperson Sharad Sharma.

“As the All India Muslim Personal Law Board (AIMPLB) has taken a formal decision to take the Ayodhya battle to the Supreme Court, it has become imperative for us to discuss the issue and take a final decision,” he added.

The Lucknow bench of the Allahabad High Court ruled Sep 30 that the disputed land should be divided between three parties — the Ram temple, the Nirmohi Akhara, a Hindu sect, and the Sunni Central Waqf Board. It also ruled that the Babri Masjid stood on the birthplace of Lord Ram.