LUCKNOW: In a damage control exercise to pacify the mahants and top VHP leaders who had once spearheaded the temple movement but failed to make it to the newly-notified temple trust, the trustees are contemplating to not only nominate Ramjanmabhoomi Nyas chief Mahant Nritya Gopal Das to the trust but also elect him the chairman of the working board in their first meeting.
According to highly-placed sources, as the trustees are authorised to nominate two permanent members to the trust, they would put forward the names of Mahant Nritya Gopal Das and Champat Rai, the Vice-President of the Vishwa Hindu Parishad, in those two slots. As per the understanding, this process would be followed by the election of Mahant Nritya Gopal Das as the trust chairman through a consensus.
Originally, both Nritya Gopal Das and Champat Rai were strong contenders to join the trust but owing to their involvement in the Babri demolition case, they were left out.
The configuration of the Shri Ram Teerthsthan Trust would be modified in its first meeting expected to be held in the next 10 days.
Currently, the trust, as announced by PM Modi, has nine members with K Parasaran, 92, the veteran lawyer, as its chairman. Parasaran had headed the team of lawyers which represented the Hindu side over the vexed issue in the Supreme Court.
If the sources are to be believed, Union Home Minister Amit Shah and the officer overseeing the Ayodhya desk in the Union Home Ministry have given clear indications to the sulking saints that Mahant Nritya Gopal Das and Champat Rai would be roped into the trust.
Disputing the government contention that Nritya Gopal Das and the VHP leader were dropped owing to their role in the Babri demolition, the followers of the Mahant had contended that if Kalyan Singh could be appointed Rajasthan Governor, a constitutional post, despite being embroiled in the Babri demolition case, the Mahant could also be included in the temple trust.
The sources also claimed that it was the Centre which suggested the move to hand over the reins of the trust to Nritya Gopal Das subsequent to his nomination by the existing trustees.
The trust’s current president Parasaran also talked to the saints of Ayodhya over the issue. He reportedly expressed his desire to hand over the control of the trust to the Ram Janmabhoomi Nyas chief.
Parasaran is believed to have explained to the Mahants that in order to avoid delay and ward off legal tangles, the accused in the Babri demolition case were kept away by the Centre. However, the bylaws of the trust allow the nine trustees to nominate two permanent members. As a result, the nomination of Nritya Gopal Das and Champat Rai was almost certain, Parasaran reportedly told the Mahants. The trustees would also elect the chairman and managing trustee.
Even the Muslim litigants have come out in support of Mahant Nritya Gopal Das being appointed the chairman of the temple trust. Iqbal Ansari said the Mahant was a respected figure in Ayodhya and Muslims would not object to his inclusion in the trust which was incomplete without him. Haji Mehboob, another litigant, claimed that no Muslim would move court against Mahant Nritya Gopal Das’s inclusion in the trust. "We will have no objection to his nomination,” said Mehboob.