The Hindu : Advani didn't respond to our offer: Muslim leaders

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Thursday, Jun 12, 2003

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National

Advani didn't respond to our offer: Muslim leaders

By Our Special Correspondent

NEW DELHI JUNE 11. Three former Vice-Chancellors of the Aligarh Muslim University — Badr-ud-Din Tyabji, Syed Hamid and B.H.Zaidi — today charged that the Bharatiya Janata Party had not responded to their offer way back in 1990 to discuss the possibility of an amicable settlement of the Ayodhya issue in return for the VHP had giving up its campaign and claim on Mathura and Kashi.

The immediate provocation was the submission of the Central Government's counsel, Lal Ram Gupta, before the Liberhan Commission that the Muslim community and its leaders had not responded to an appeal made by the Deputy Prime Minister, L. K. Advani, then president of the BJP, to use his good offices with the VHP to get it to drop the Kashi and Mathura mosques from its agenda if the Ayodhya issue was settled in favour of constructing a Ram temple. The three former Vice-Chancellors have virtually described that claim as a "lie".

In a press statement, the secretary-general of the Minorities Council, Iqbal Ansari, said the submission before the Commission was "factually not correct". The copy of the letter written jointly by Mr. Tyabji, Mr. Hamid and Mr. Zaidi to Mr. Advani on August 23, 1990 from the 1/23 Shanti Niketan of Mr. Tyabji was attached to his statement.

The letter read: "Dear Mr. Advani, We have read with considerable interest your statement on the Ram Janmabhoomi-Babri Masjid dispute ... it seems to us that your suggestion (settling Ayodhya with promise of maintaining the status quo of Kashi and Mathura mosques) holds promise of an amicable settlement... in the larger national interest it is essential a settlement satisfactory to both the communities is arrived at — we shall be happy to call (on you for an exploratory discussion... a reply at the above address will be appreciated...(signed) Tyabji, Hamid, Zaidi."

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