Vajpayee meets Shankaracharya of Kanchi

new delhi: as part of efforts to end the ayodhya impasse, prime minister atal bihari vajpayee on monday night held consultations with shankaracharya of kanchi kamakoti peetam sri jayendra saraswathi. the pontiff met the prime minister after holding wide-ranging discussions with vhp top brass and other hindu religious leaders, who have vowed to go ahead with shifting of carved stones to the ram janambhoomi site in ayodhya on march 15.according to vhp international working president ashok singhal, the seer would urge vajpayee to hand over the undisputed land acquired by the government to the ram janambhoomi trust and lift restrictions enforced in the temple town. president of ram janambhoomi nyas (trust), mahant paramhans ramchandra das, singhal, vhp senior vice-president acharya giriraj kishore and its general secretary praveenbhai togadiya also met the shankaracharya who arrived here on a ''peace mission'' on monday morning, sources said. the shankaracharya, whose visit to the capital was kept "very secret" till the last minute, is on a mission to prevail upon the vhp leadership to postpone its temple construction plan, according to mutt sources.