Govt should not get involved in Ayodhya dispute: Kapil Sibal

Government should not step into the Ayodhya issue as it was a "private dispute" which should be left to the parties concerned to resolve, Union HRD minister Kapil Sibal has said.

Reconciliation must be left to the parties concerned. The fact of the matter is that compromise and reconciliation is the way forward, he said.

"Government has no role to play in this. It can state publicly that the matter be resolved by the parties concerned. But I don't think we can force the government in such a complex situation. Why should government get involved in a private dispute," Sibal, an eminent lawyer, said.

He told Karan Thapar in an interview that there are complex issues such as the issue of possession, who is in possession of the site.

"What is the concept of possession in the 17th century, 16th century India when it all happened. What are prescripted right under law to establish ownership, do those rights apply to 16th century India. What is the concept of ownership in the context of a place of worship. These are fundamental issue which the Supreme Court has to go into...I hope so."

Sibal was replying to a question whether government must step in.

The minister's comments come in the backdrop of the Congress Working Committee yesterday saying that the party respects the Allahabad high court judgment and would welcome efforts by parties concerned with the dispute to find an amicable and peaceful settlement.

Sibal said that the issues are highly complex and the Supreme Court will be very careful and meticulous in analysing the judgment and coming to a conclusion consistent with the Constitution.

The apex court could take long time to deliver its verdict, Sibal felt.

Hitting out at LK Advani for his remarks that he feels "vindicated" about his 'rath yatra' in the wake of the Ayodhya verdict, Sibal said the statement exposed his "short-sightedness" as the matter will go to the Supreme Court.

Supreme Court could either affirm the verdict of the high court or set it aside, he noted.

"However, what is happening today is that some political parties are taking this to be the final verdict and, therefore, making public statements, things they should not be saying. We do not know finally what is going to happen," Sibal said.

"If Advani believes the verdict will be affirmed in its entirety by the Supreme Court, then obviously being a matured politician I can't possibly say that years of experience has put him in good stead".

Sibal said that it was not only jumping the gun, but it shows a sense of short-sightedness of a leader.

The minister said he also does not subscribe to Advani's assertion that the verdict has cleared the way for construction of a grand temple at Ayodhya because he feels it was too "premature" to make such a statement.

"LK Advani knows it and perhaps they are probably doing it because they believe that in the coming elections they might find some advantages," he said, adding Advani was trying to justify to himself that what he did in the rath yatra was right.

He said by and large there was a very mature response to the verdict from the public and he felt "enormously" gratified by the fact that peace and tranquillity has prevailed.

Sibal said India today had moved way forward where people especially the younger generation were more concerned about education and emerging opportunities than anything else.