New Delhi: With the party in Government in an election mode, Deputy Prime Minister L K Advani today (Jan 9, 2004) asked Hindu and Muslim communities to arrive at an amicable settlement of the Ayodhya issue, which he said the Government would facilitate.

Reacting to the appeal by Tibetan spiritual leader Dalai Lama asking the two communities to adopt "a mature, farsighted and open-minded" approach to resolve the temple-mosque dispute, Advani said that the Government would not only encourage but also actively participate in any serious and reasonable effort to settle the issue in an amicable manner.

Welcoming Dalai Lama's statement on behalf of the Government and the BJP (Bharatiya Janata Party), he said, "I am sure that the Hindu organisations which are endeavouring to build a temple for Sri Ram will also be keen to settle the issue by dialogue."

"I am sure that we will use whatever persuasive power in the Government and in the BJP have over those who had launched the movement for Ram Temple at Ayodhya, to participate in any amicable settlement on Ayodhya," Advani said.