SC appointed panel reaches Ayodhya, to meet on Wed

The three-member panel appointed by the Supreme Court to explore the possibility of resolution of the vexed Ram Janambhoomi-Babri Masjid issue through negotiations reached Ayodhya on Tuesday.

According to the official sources the panel, comprising spiritual guru Sri Sri Ravi Shankar, Justice (retd) Khalifullah and Sriram Panchu, would hold its first meeting on Wednesday.

The panel has been put up at the guest house of Avadh University in Ayodhya.

Sources said that no one would be allowed to meet the members of the panel without their prior concurrence. The entire area around the guest house has been barricaded and security personnel has been deployed in strength.

Sources said that representatives of the Hindu and Muslim parties to the dispute would also be reaching Ayodhya on Wednesday. It was not clear if the panel would meet the representatives on Wednesday.

Muslim parties to the dispute held a meeting here on Tuesday and discussed the issue.

One of the main Muslim plaintiffs Iqbal Ansari objected to the inclusion of Ravi Shankar in the panel. ''Hindu saints are also opposed to Ravi Shankar's inclusion,'' he said here.

Ansari, however, welcomed the efforts to resolve the issue through negotiations and said that all parties wanted the early resolution of the dispute.

Earlier the Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) had also expressed reservations over the mediation efforts and said that it would only delay the case in the court.