BJP welcomes SC order to settle Ayodhya dispute out of court

New Delhi: The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) today welcomed the Supreme Court's suggestion of an out-of-court settlement of the Ayodhya dispute, and said aggrieved parties should keep in mind its "sensitivity" while discussing the matter.

"The Supreme Court has called for an out-of-court settlement between the aggrieved parties. The parties should resolve the issue amicably by talking to each other.

"We welcome this step and I believe they should have talks outside the court," BJP spokesperson Sambit Patra told reporters here.

The party will study in detail the observations made by the apex court, which has said the issue is sensitive and sentimental and is related to faith of millions of people, he said.

Patra suggested that aggrieved parties should talk while keeping in mind the "sensitivity" of the issue.

The Supreme Court today said fresh attempts must be made by all parties concerned to find a solution to the Ayodhya temple dispute which is a "sensitive" and "sentimental matter".

A bench headed by Chief Justice J S Khehar said that such religious issues can be solved through negotiations and offered to mediate to arrive at an amicable settlement.

The observations came after BJP leader Subramanian Swamy mentioned the matter seeking urgent hearing of the issue.

On February 26 last year, the apex court had allowed Swamy to intervene in the pending matters relating to the Ayodhya title dispute with his plea seeking construction of

Ram temple at the site of the demolished disputed structure.

The BJP leader had earlier moved the plea for a direction to allow construction of Ram temple in Ayodhya at the disputed site and had mentioned it before a bench headed by the then Chief Justice T S Thakur for an urgent hearing.

He had also sought directions to expedite the disposal of several petitions challenging the Allahabad High Court verdict of three-way division of the disputed Ram Janmabhoomi-Babri Masjid site in Ayodhya on September 30, 2010.