The Hindu : National : Title-holder offers land for temple, mosque in Ayodhya

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Thursday, Apr 29, 2004

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National

Title-holder offers land for temple, mosque in Ayodhya

NEW DELHI, APRIL 28. In an effort to reduce tensions over the Ayodhya dispute, the person who holds the title of the acquired land near the disputed site today offered land to construct a temple and a mosque, a proposal that has the support of the former Prime Ministers, Chandra Shekhar and V.P. Singh.

Unveiling the plan at a press conference at Mr. Chandra Shekhar's residence here, Shivendra Pratap Sahi, a resident of Ayodhya, offered two plots of 50 acres each for the construction of the two places of worship and also offered land for setting up an all-religion shrine, an engineering collegeand a medical college in the temple town. Claiming the support of the local Muslim community and 13 of the 16 `mahants' of Ayodhya, Mr. Sahi, who is the manager of the Raj Rajeshwari Sitaram Trust and owns much of the land in the area said, ``Lot of blood has been shed over the dispute, and it has sullied the image of the country in the international community.''

He, however, made it clear that the proposal was not aimed at resolving the dispute but meant to contribute towards ``lowering the temperatures.''

Supporting the proposal, Mr. Chandra Shekhar suggested that the consent of the Centre and the State Government be obtained to avoid the issue getting mired in another controversy. Mr. Singh, who was also present at the conference to express his solidarity, said it was an independent proposal to help ease the tensions among the communities. — PTI

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