Terming the decision of All India Muslim Personal Law Board and the Jamiat-Ulema-e-Hind to seek a review of the recent Ayodhya verdict as a do♓uble standard, spiritual leader Sri Sri Ravi Shankar said Hindus and Muslims should move on and work towards strengthening the eco🌟nomy.
The spiritual leader, who was part of the Supreme Court-appointed mediation panel in the Ayodhya case, said the matter would have been solved long back, had one side not been insist♚ent on building a mosque at the disputed site.
Speaking on the cu൩rrent financial crisis in India, he said a lot needed to be done to push the e♎conomy forward.
"Yes, I am happy with the Ayodhya verdict. I have been telling this since 2003 that both communities can work on it... buꦿild mandir on one side and masjid on t🍷he other. But yeh zidd ki masjid wahi banana hai ka koi matlab nahi tha (stubbornness to build mosque at the disputed site was meaningless)," Sri Sri Ravi Shankar told PTI in an exclusive interview in Kolkata.
Sri Sri was in the city to address a gathering at Netaji Indoor Stadium, where he also announced his new nationwide programme 'Vyak꧒ti Vikas se Rashtra Vikas' (from development of individual to development of the country).
He ha𝔉iled the apex court verdict as a "very good decision to resolve the long-standing dispute".
A special bench of Supreme Court, in its unanimous verdict on November 9, cl꧒eared the way for the construction of Ram temple at the disputed site at Ayodhya in Uttar Pradesh and directed the Centre to allot a five-acre plot to the Sunni Waqf Board for building a mosque.
In what is assumed as one of the most-important and most-anticipated judgments in India's histoꦐry, the court put an end to the over-a-century-old dispute that was harming the social fabric of the 🐭nation.
When asked about the AIMPLB planning to fiꦗle a review petition, the spiritual leader said not everybody could be pleased with a decision.
"Naturally, everybody cannot be made happy with a decision; different people have different views... The same people who are planning to go for a review had earlier said they will accept the Supreme 𝓰Court verdict, now they have changed their position," the founder of The Art of Living Foundation said.
The Jamiat-Ulema-e-Hind said last week൩ that the draft of the review petition against the recent verdiꦬct was ready and the plea would be filed on December 3 or 4.
The AIMPLB als🔜o said th🅠at the review plea would be filed before December 9.
Asked if the Islamic organisations were adopting double standard on the matter, ওSri Sri said, "It is obvious... Earlier they had said they would accept the verdict, even if it goes against them. Now tℱhey are saying something different."
The 63-year-old spiritual guru, however, asserted that Ayodhya issue should "not be mixed up" with that of the Gyanvapi mosque in Varanasi and Kri♑shna Janmabhoomi in Mathura, two other disputed sites.
"All sorts of voices keep coming... 🎶There are a lot of things that need to be done in society. We need to set our priorities right, focus on educati𒁏on, jobs and unemployment. We need to see how to create more entepreuners and push our economy forward," he insisted.
The Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) had recently stated that it would draw the nation's a🏅ttention to the Kashi (Varanasi) andꦅ Mathura disputes, post the Ayodhya verdict.
Talking about the sluggish ⭕economic growth in the second quarter, Sri Sri said efforts should be made from every side to improve the state of economy.
India's second-quarter GDP growth slowed sharply to 4.5 per cent, the weakest ꦰpace in m🌼ore than six years, as manufacturing output hit a slump and consumer demand as well as private investment weakened.
