Won’t accept Ayodhya panel ‘settlement’: Muslim parties

New Delhi: The Sunni Waqf Board and other Muslim litigants in the Ram Janmabhoomi-Babri Masjid dispute on Friday rejected the proposal conveyed to the Supreme Court on behalf of the top court appointed mediation committee giving impression that  the Waqf Board is ready to give up claim to the disputed site and withdraw its appeal challenging the 2010 Allahabad High Court judgment trifurcating the disputed site.

It has been stated in the proposal sent by the mediation committee that the “offer” to give up the claim over the disputed site is subject to some conditionalities like opening of the mosques under the ASI control for offering “namaz”.

A statement issued by the lawyers for the Sunni Waqf Board and other Muslim litigants says, “We must make it absolutely clear that we the appellants before the Supreme Court do not accept the proposal made, which has been leaked out to the press, nor the procedure by which the mediation has taken place nor the manner in which a withdrawal of the claim has been suggested as a compromise. “

Pointing fingers at the mediation committee, the statement has asserted that the recent attempts for some amicable solution of the dispute before the mediation committee were “not representative” as the “main Hindu parties had openly stated that that they were not open to any settlement” and this incl-uded the main Muslim appellant — the Waqf Board and  others as well.

Distancing themselves from the suggestion being attributed to chairman, Sunni Waqf Board, Zafar Farooqui, the lawyers representing the Muslim side said that there was no resolution of the Waqf Board for surrendering the claim  over the disputed site subject to conditionalities.

Alleging that the leak to the media might have been inspired  either by mediation committee or the those who participated in the mediation, the statement said that the leak was in violation of the top court order which had directed that the proceedings of the mediation committee shall remain confidential.

Rasing questions on the role of one of the mediators, Sriram Panchu, in the entire sequence of events, the statement said he had sent a communication to the CJI Ranjan Gogoi seeking protection for Zafar Farooqui and on October 16, when the Constitution Bench was hearing the case another communication was received from Panchu carrying the proposal.

The statement on behalf of the Muslim litigants has been issued by their lawyers Ejaz Maqbool,  Shakil Ahmed Syed, M. R. Shams had, Irshad Ahmed, Fuzail Ahmed Ayyubi.