Why look for 'shivling' in every mosque: RSS chief

New Delhi: Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh chief Mohan Bhagwat on Thursday called for a "path through mutual agreement" on the controversy over the filming of Gyanvapi mosque in Uttar Pradesh's Varanasi.

Hindu and Muslim petitioners are fighting a legal battle over a court-ordered filming of the mosque complex to check whether there are idols of Hindu gods and goddesses and whether a 'shivling' has been found, as claimed by the Hindu petitioners.

"We had special devotion towards some places and we spoke about them but we shouldn't bring out a new matter daily. Why should we escalate the dispute? We have devotion towards Gyanvapi and doing something as per that, it's alright. But why look for a shivling in every masjid?" said the chief of the RSS, the BJP's ideological mentor.

The RSS chief's statement defuses weeks of comments by rightwing groups and leaders that indicated the matter could turn into street mobilisation, making some draw parallels with the demolition of the Babri Masjid in UP's Ayodhya in 1992.

"The Gyanvapi matter is going on. We can't change history. Neither today's Hindus nor today's Muslims created it. It happened at that time.

Islam came from outside via attackers. In the attacks, devsthans (places of worship) were demolished to exhaust the morale of those who wanted India's independence," Bhagwat said.