KT NEWS SERVICE NEW DELHI, Jan 9 : Deputy Prime Minister L.
Advani on Friday asked Hindu and Muslim communities here to sort out their differences in the same spirit as India and Pakistan arrived at a settlement in Islamabad.
Drawing parallels, he said as a "new chapter" had opened up in Indo-Pak relations following the recent visit of Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee there, "a new chapter in Hindu-Muslim relations will begin in the country if a settlement on Babri Masjid-Ramjanam-bhomi is arrived at.
"It will be seen as a victory of national unity, peace and harmony," he stated.
Observing that the recent breakthrough in Islamabad between India and Pakistan was not considered by either party as a matter of "victory or loss", Advani said the Ayodhya issue should also be seen in the same light.
"If a similar approach is adopted to resolve the Ayodhya issue by the two communities, it will be good for the nation as a whole", he said.
Advani said "if the Muslim community comes forward to cooperate with the Hindus in fulfilling their aspirations of building a Ram Temple at the site of Babri Masjid, the Hindus also should step forward to remove the concerns from the minds of the Muslims".
Observing that the Ayodhya issue should not be viewed just as a "temple versus mosque issue", the Deputy Prime Minister said "a peaceful solution to this issue has the potential to correct the wrong trends in the relations between the two communities which are a residue of the past".
Reacting to the appeal by Tibetan spiritual leader the Dalai Lama asking the two communities to adopt "a mature, farsighted and open-minded" approach to resolve the temple- mosque dispute, Advani told reporters that the government would "not only encourage but also actively participate in any serious and reasonable effort to settle the issue in an amicable manner".
He said the erstwhile government of Chandra Shekhar had also initiated moves for talks between the two communities but these efforts had not borne fruit.
"I feel today, an environment exists in which a settlement can be reached.
A resolution of this issue will take the relations between Hindu and Muslims to new heights", Advani said.
Meanwhile, Hindu and Muslim groups here are divided over an appeal by Tibetan spiritual leader to amicably resolve the Ayodhya issue, with the former welcoming it but the minority community leaders were "lukewarm" to the proposal.
"Dalai Lama is a great spiritual leader and his appeal is welcome," RSS spokesman Ram Madhav told PTI here.
Maintaining that RSS will support any effort at resolving the matter, Madhav expressed confidence that "all parties concerned will adopt a positive approach" on the appeal.
VHP issued a statement jointly signed by its Working President Ashok Singhal, Senior Vice President Acharya Giriraj Kishore and General Secretary Pravin Togadia asserting that the issue was linked to "faith" of Hindus and they would accept any effort which "respects the self-respect and sentiments of Hindus." All India Muslim Personal Law Board (AIMPLB) said it "respects" the appeal by Dalai Lama but there was "no concrete proposal" in it.
"Talks have been held several times but no solution has been forthcoming so far," AIMPLB spokesman S Q R Ilyas said and alleged that dialogue had failed because "the other party wants a particular kind of solution." "We are not shying away from dialogue but will not talk to those responsible for demolition of Babri Masjid," he said.
Shahi Imam of Delhi's Jama Masjid Syed Ahmed Bukhari said in view of the Dalai Lama's appeal, a hope has been raised that talks would make some progress.
"There is nothing wrong if the government has begun this with election in mind.
What is relevant is the level of seriousness and that some progress must be made," he said, adding "but that depends on whether the government is truly interested in a solution".
"If the government is interested in solving the issue, then there is a chance," he said.
US says it did not play role of facilitator NEW DELHI, JAN 9 (Agencies): Dismissing reports that it facilitated the decision for resumption of Indo-Pak composite dialogue, the US today said it was the "political courage and statemanship" of Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee and President Pervez Musharraf which was responsible for it.
It, however, said that at "key moments" it was able to talk to both India and Pakistan.
"Success seems to have thousand quarters.
It is the political courage and statesmanship of Prime Minister Vajpayee and President Musharraf which has brought this remarkable development into being," US Deputy Secretary of State Richard Armitage told NDTV 24X7.
Asked if Washington had played the role of a facilitator, he said "no.
I think that gives us too much credit ....
we did not do it.
To a question that many believed that US played the "third party" role in this peace process, Armitage said "I won't say that there is a role in the peace process itself but certainly there is a role for us for friends like India and Pakistan to be supportive of the process bilaterally".
He said both countries are very confident of their relationship with the rest of the world.
They have the necessary confidence to be able to deal with "very knotty long-standing problems", he said.
Asked if India and Pakistan were better prepared this time after the failures at Lahore and Agra, Armitage said "condition are being better than they have been".
He noted that the Indian Airlines had landed today in Lahore for the first time in last two years and that economic ties between India and Pakistan were improving.
The global environment is more conducive, he said.
"There are two valiant leaders (Vajpayee and Musharraf) who seem to be intent" on leading their nations on the path of peace, he said.
