Replace Sri Sri Ravi Shankar from Ayodhya mediation panel: Spiritual leader to Supreme Court

Spiritual leader Adhokshajanand Deo Tirtha Maharaj on Saturday called for replacing Sri Sri Ravi Shankar from the panel formed by the Supreme Court to mediate the Ram Janmabhoomi-Babri Masjid land dispute. Speaking to reporters in Uttar Pradesh's Mathura, Maharaj said, "While I appreciate the gesture of the apex court for finding out an amicable settlement by forming a mediation panel, I urge them to replace Sri Sri Ravi Shankar since he had earlier failed in his mission of a compromise formula. And, therefore, he might not be taken seriously by both the sides".

The seer clarified that he did not have any grudge against Ravi Shankar. However, he added, since Ravi Shankar's compromise formula was not acceptable to both the groups, an eminent person, who has patience, might bring fruitful result.

The Supreme Court had on March 8 referred the decades-old politically-sensitive Ayodhya land dispute case for mediation by a panel headed by former apex court judge FMI Kalifulla for exploring the possibility of an amicable settlement. Spiritual guru and founder of Art of Living Foundation Sri Sri Ravishankar and senior advocate Sriram Panchu, a renowned mediator, will be the other two members of the panel of mediators.

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"Modi should have brought a bill for the construction of a Ram temple because people had given a huge mandate in Uttar Pradesh and at the Centre. The atmosphere was also conducive, but now... the time has passed," the seer said.

"Now, the only course left is to get redressal from the top court that would deliver its judgment on the basis of facts and discretion," he added.

Referring to the mediation process, the Shankaracharya said the top court had tried to retain the harmony between both the groups. He appealed to both the groups to desist from taking extreme positions.

Fourteen appeals have been filed in the apex court against a 2010 Allahabad High Court judgment, delivered in four civil suits, that the 2.77-acre land in Ayodhya be partitioned equally among the three parties -- the Sunni Waqf Board, the Nirmohi Akhara and Ram Lalla. On December 6, 1992, the Babri Masjid, constructed at the disputed site in the 16th century, was demolished.