Ayodhya: Maintaining a strident note, the Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) on June 9 rejected Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee's suggestion of negotiated settlement of Ayodhya issue, saying the only way to resolve the tangle was enactment of law by Parliament for construction of Ram temple.

"If political parties are keen to solve this issue, they should enact a law in favour of construction of Ram temple at Ayodhya. At this juncture, this seems to be the only plausible solution," international VHP president Ashok Singhal said.

Categorically rejecting Vajpayee's suggestion, Singhal told a group of VHP workers at Karsevakpuram in Ayodhya that there cannot be any negotiated settlement now.

"VHP wants construction of Ram temple at Ayodhya and will not settle for anything less than that," he said.

Addressing a function in Delhi on June 8 to celebrate the 50th anniversary of consecration of Kanchi Shankaracharya Jayendra Saraswati, Vajpayee said the government wanted a solution either through talks between religious and social leaders of the two communities or through court.

Talking to reporters, senior VHP leader Giriraj Kishore hailed the suggestion of Kanchi Shankaracharya that political parties should not interfere in Ayodhya issue.

But he rejected the seer's suggestion of handing over ASI (Archaeological Survey of India)-controlled mosques to Muslims.

"This is not acceptable to VHP. How can a structure, which is a heritage of the country be handed over to any community?" he asked.

PTI