Shankaracharya of Prayag Swami Madhavanand on Monday accused Shankaracharya of Kanchi Jayendra Saraswati of lying in his statement that Muslims had agreed to the construction of Ram temple in Ayodhya.
Addressing a press conference, he pointed out that neither any Muslim leader nor the All India Muslim Personal Law Board has given any undertaking to the Hindu seer from Kanchi that they were agreeable to the construction of a temple at the disputed site in Ayodhya.
He said 'by lying' Jayendra Saraswati had 'irreparably stigmatised' the glorious traditions of Adi Shankaracharya.
"I have decided to ask for clarification from Jayendra Saraswati. Otherwise he should either prove the truth or relinquish his gaddi (seat) because not doing so would be tantamount to polluting Adi Shankaracharya's traditions," the Shankaracharya of Prayag said.
The press conference had been jointly organised by the World Sufi Council and the Vishwa Kalyan Parishad.
He said the Ayodhya dispute should either be resolved peacefully between the rival parties or be settled by the court.
Swami Madhavanand said he did not accept the Vishwa Hindu Parishad as a party to the Ayodhya dispute. He named the Ram Janambhoomi Nyas and the All India Muslim Personal Law Board as the two parties.