Amidst the cacophony over Ram temple construction, efforts are being made to settle the issue out of court with the Muslim plaintiff in this case, Haji Mehboob, writing a letter to spiritual guru Sri Sri Ravi Shankar in this regard.

An emissary of Sri Sri, Gautam Vig, met Haji Mehboob in Ayodhya on Monday and conveyed to him the feelings of the Art of Living leader about solving the Ram temple issue out of court.

In the evening, Haji Mehboob wrote a letter to Sri Sri, showing his willingness to resolve the issue, but with some riders.

What exactly Haji Mehboob has written in the letter is not known but it is believed that he has shown his willingness to solve this vexed issue out of court.

Another plaintiff in the case, Iqbal Hashim, too, has shown his willingness to solve the issue out of court. He is on record saying that if outsiders leave Ayodhya, the residents of this city will solve the issue themselves.

The Art of Living founder is voluntarily mediating to help the warring parties settle the dispute amicably. Last year, in the mid of November, he went to Ayodhya and held a meeting with the sadhus. He also met Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath before visiting Ayodhya.

After the meeting, Sri Sri was of the view that majority of Muslims were not opposed to the idea of building a Ram temple at the disputed site.

“I know some may not agree with this, but Muslims by and large are not opposing the Ram temple,” Sri Sri Ravi Shankar had told reporters in Ayodhya on November 16 last year.

The Vishwa Hindu Parishad is, however, opposed to any move of the Art of Livingfounder to solve the issue through mutual consent.

“Sri Sri is not a party to this issue. How can he solve the problem unilaterally? This issue can only be solved by the court or through legislation,” VHP spokesman Sharad Sharma said.