Lucknow, June 19: Even before the much awaited proposal of the Kanchi Seer Jayendra Saraswati to resolve the Ayodhya deadlock has reached the All India Muslim Personal Law Board (AIMPLB),both Muslims and Hindu religious leaders appear to have hardened their stand indicating a rough weather ahead. While the board was ready to consider any worthwhile proposal to resolve the tangle with an open mind, both the Babri Masjid Action Committee (BMAC) and Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) the two main parties in the dispute, maintained a rigid stand over their respective rights to the disputed site. "We are awaiting the Kanchi Seer's formula and are ready to consider it with an open mind in the light of the Shariat' (Islamic jurisprudence) and in the best interest of the society and the country," AIMPLB spokesman Maulana Sajjad Nomani told a news agency here today. Terming the statement of BMAC convenor Zafaryab Jilani and former BMAC leader Mohammad Azam Khan that the seer's proposals would be "of little help" if it advocated construction of a ram temple at the place where Babri Masjid existed as "pre-mature", Nomani said the Shariat had several instructions vis-a-vis a Masjid.

The board, which is an apex body of the Muslims, will consider the proposals without any prejudice, he said.
Vice-chairman of AIMPLB Maulana Kalbe Sadiq told reporters in Faizabad that the Ayodhya issue could be solved also on historical facts as the excavation was in progress in Ayodhya.
"If there is historical evidence that a temple existed beneath the demolished Babri mosque, the Muslims could take a suitable decision based on concrete facts," he said.

Bureau Report