New Delhi, June 11: The Shahi Imam of Delhi's historic Jama Masjid Syed Ahmed Bukhari today described the statements of Kanchi Shankaracharya and some Muslim leaders on the Babri Masjid issue as a "mischievous attempt" to confuse Indian Muslims and said a solution to the Ayodhya embroglio is possible only through a court verdict. The Shahi Imam also termed as "ridiculous" the recent statement of Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee asking political parties to keep away from the Ayodhya issue.
In a statement here, the Imam said, "Indian Muslims have not authorised any individual or organisation to talk on Babri Masjid issue and those who are claiming so are deceiving themselves." He also criticised the Kanchi Seer alleging that his views on the disputed site "seems to be the same as that of VHP".
Ridiculing Vajpayee's statement, the Imam said, "the Prime Minister and his party were in power by doing politics on Ayodhya and now too the issue is being raised at the instance of the Central government to keep BJP in power." Charging the VHP and BJP with making up their mind for building a Ram Temple at the disputed site using "power", he said the only out-of-court solution on the issue was to admit legally the ownership rights of Muslims on the disputed site and construct a temple in the "surrounding area" in consultation with the minority community. Bureau Report