Kanchi Shankaracharya Jayendra Saraswati on Sunday said he did not believe that his proposal to untangle the Ayodhya issue had been rejected by the All India Muslim Personal Law Board outright.
"The discussions are on. I have received communication that they will be consulting with me," he said, when his reaction was sought to the rejection of his proposal by the AIMPLB.
Refusing to agree that the talks have failed, he said, "They have rejected once before also, but again they came back. So there is always hope that they will come back. This can be solved not out of anger but out of love."
Asked who had communicated to him from the AIMPLB, Jayendra declined to disclose it.
Asked whether it was Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee, who had spoken to him, the seer asked, "Why would the PM come into this?"
Replying to another question on why talks were having a setback, he said it was because it was becoming a conflict of 'egos and a prestige'. Instead it should be approached with 'mutual love and understanding', he said.
He also declined to hazard the reason for the grounds of rejection, when a reporter sought to know it.
Asked whether he was sad about the outcome, the seer said, "No. There is always hope."
He said it was a pity that a section of the press caused a setback by giving 'undue twist' to his statement on the eve of the AIMPLB meeting.
Asked why had he sent the proposal to the Board instead of the Babri Masjid Action Committee, Jayendra said it was the AIMPLB, which had come forward to have consultations and conciliation with him.
The seer said it was unfortunate that undue emphasis had been given to his statement that there was no need for a mosque at Ayodhya.
He said he had always been telling the Hindus that there was no need for building new temples, but old temples should be maintained.