Muslims cold to Jama Masjid Trust’s solution

The renewed movement for the construction of the temple in Ayodhya will start from March. ‘‘We have no problems in accepting the proposal and we are happy that Muslims have started reading the ground reality,’’ Ashok Singhal said.

The VHP, further, wants a rider on the proposal by the Jama Trust — the consent of Muslim litigants is a must on withdrawal of the case on the disputed site in the High Court.

The barely four-month-old trust is unfazed, though. ‘‘Our efforts will soon reach their logical conclusion,’’ said trustee Allama Saiyed Asghar Abbas Rizvi. ‘‘The trust has drawn up a proposal to solve the dispute and we are in regular touch the Ayodhya cell in the PMO.’’

The trust wants Muslims to allow Hindus to start temple construction from the undisputed, acquired land while Muslims can start construction of a grand mosque on a five-acre plot, barely a kilometre from the disputed site.

‘‘There is no question of withdrawing our claim on the disputed site. The trust is operating at the behest of Union Minister Chinmayanand and it is natural that the VHP will give its assent to its proposal,’’ said Zafaryab Zilani, member of the Muslim Personal Law Board.

Local Muslims have steered clear of the trust too. ‘‘Not a single known Muslim is in support of the trust,’’ said Mohammed Hashim Ansari in a statement signed by chairman of the Babri Masjid Action Committee in Faizabad, Mohammed Yunus.

Rizvi believes litigation will lead nowhere. ‘‘Do Muslims think they can get the makeshift temple removed from the disputed site even if they win the case in court?’’ said Rizvi. ‘‘It is time we resolved the issue amicably instead of allowing other people to take political advantage of the prevailing situation. Muslims want a mosque and will get a mosque. Let Hindus build their temple on the undisputed land.’’