LUCKNOW: Ahead of its first meeting, the newly-announced Shri Ram Teerth Kshetra Trust has invited veteran saint and Ram Janmabhoomi Nyas chief Mahant Nritya Gopal Das. The 15-member trust is scheduled to hold its first meeting at the residence of apex court lawyer K Parasaran, member, Board of Trustees, in Delhi on Wednesday. Vishwa Hindu Parishad vice-president Champat Rai is also expected to be present at the meeting, sources said.
Initially, Mahant Nritya Gopal Das was not included in the trust. This had led to outrage among the saints and seers in Ayodhya. Later, an invitation was sent to the Mahant to attend the first meeting of the trust. It is seen as a step towards his inclusion in the temple body. According to sources, three members of the trust — Swami Vasudevanand, Raja Bimelndra Ptrapa Mohan Mishra of Ayodhya royal family and Dr Anil Mishra, also of Ayodhya — had met Mahant Nritya Gopal Das on Monday in this connection.
Meanwhile, a Supreme Court lawyer MR Shamshad wrote to the temple trust on behalf of 10 local Muslims of Ayodhya, appealing to spare five acres of land — around the demolished Babri Masjid where a graveyard is situated — when they construct the temple. The land falls within the 67 acres around the temple site, which was acquired by the Centre in 1991. In the letter, addressed to the trustees of Janmabhoomi Teerth Kshetra, the lawyer made an emotional appeal saying that according to Sanatan Dharma, a Ram temple cannot be built on the graves of Muslims. However, Ayodhya district administration denied the presence of any graveyard within the 67 acre land of Ram Janmabhoomi complex area. “At present, there is no graveyard within the 67-acre campus of the Ram Janmabhoomi,” Ayodhya district magistrate Anuj Jha said.