Jodhpur: A social organisation of Jains, which has staked claim over the disputed
land in Ayodhya, where the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) is undertaking
excavation on a court's order, on March 11 demanded that a representative of the
Jains be allowed as observer while the excavation is on.
A team of four representatives of Hindus, Muslims, Buddhists and Jains should be
formed and allowed to witness the excavation by the ASI to ascertain if a temple
existed on the site where Babri Masjid was built, 'Jain Samta Vahini' (JSV) said in
a statement.
The JSV demanded that it be made a party in the ongoing legal battle to settle the
issue, because "historical records showed that the disputed structure stood over a
Jain temple".
The JSV said it remained aloof from the "ticklish issue so far as it was being
sought to be resolved by violent means by certain quarters", but it decided to
become a party in the dispute when judiciary decided to find what lay beneath the
foundation of the disputed structure, national general secretary of the JSV Praveen
Kumbhat and organisational general secretary Sohan Mehta said in a joint statement.
PTI
