Sources said on Tuesday that a group of Muslim intellectuals, including former Chief Election Commissioner S Y Quraishi and former Delhi Lieutenant Governor Najeeb Jung, recently met RSS Chief Mohan Bhagwat and devised a plan to strengthen communal harmony.

It was decided during the meeting, which came during the Gyanvapi mosque case in court, to establish a platform for strengthening communal harmony.

A closed-door meeting was held at Udasin Ashram, the temporary office of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), recently by former Vice Chancellor Lt General (retd) Zamiruddin Shah, former MP Shahid Siddiqui, and philanthropist Saeed Shervani, sources said.

In the two-hour meeting, sources reported that a wide range of topics were discussed, including improving intracommunity relations.

It appears that Nupur Sharma’s recent comments and controversy surrounding the Gyanvapi mosque did not come up for discussion during the meeting, they said.

Sources present at the meeting told PTI that Bhagwat and the group of intellectuals agreed that the country cannot progress without strengthening communal harmony and reconciliation.

During the meeting, both sides recognized the importance of communal harmony and removing differences and misinterpretations between communities. To pursue this initiative, a plan was outlined.

In September 2019, Bhagwat met the head of Jamiat Ulema-e-Hind, Maulana Syed Arshad Madani, at the RSS office in the national capital. While last year, he met a group of Muslim intellectuals at a hotel in Mumbai. They discussed several issues, including strengthening unity between Hindus and Muslims and mob lynchings.