VHP to move temple base to Lucknow

The shift, for the VHP, has come at a time when a number of non-VHP saints, Muslim leaders and also the Kanchi Shankaracharya are trying to find a peaceful solution to the issue through mutual talks. The Shankaracharya had held a meeting with Hindus and Muslims living in Ayodhya and Faizabad recently, and also paid a visit to Ayodhya and met local people belonging to both communities.

While the Shankaracharya is already on the job, Vishwa Dharam Raksha Parishad president and Ramjanmabhoomi Trust member Baba Dharam Das and Shia scholar Maulana Kalbe Javed have undertaken a fresh exercise to reach a mutually acceptable solution.

‘‘The VHP had ‘politicised’ the whole issue and a solution to the imbroglio could be found only when it was kept out of the picture,’’ said Baba Dharam Das, also a mahant of the famous Hanumangarhi temple, adding that people of Ayodhya were fed up with VHP-sponsored agitational programmes.

The ‘‘inconvenience’’ to locals appears to be one of the major reasons for the VHP decision to shift base, as local people had faced hardships during its agitation. Terming the VHP leaders as ‘‘political terrorists’’, he said the country faced a ‘‘greater danger’’ from such people. Das said religious leaders of both communities would meet at Ayodhya on Oct. 5 to discuss possible solutions to the issue.