Bengaluru, Aug 5 (IANS): Spiritual leader Sri Sri Ravi Shankar, who had mediated in the Ram Janmaboomi - Babri Masjid dispute, did not receive an invitation to attend the Ram Temple bhumi puja in Ayodhya on Wednesday, an official said on Tuesday.

"Sri Sri Ravi Shankar ji has not been invited to the programme and we don't know the reason why," told a spokesperson to IANS.

The non-profit organization has clarified that some media houses have reported Sri Sri Ravi Shankar received an invite but that is not correct.

Meanwhile, Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Subramanian Swamy pointed out that Shankar played a key role in the Supreme Court (SC) appointed mediation committee.

"His ideas swung Muslim opinion in favour of accepting Ram Mandir for an alternative elsewhere. My namaskar to him," said Swamy.

He made this statement from his conviction and knowledge.

"From my firsthand knowledge in Ram Mandir issue, I can say with conviction that Sri Sri Ravi Shankar's involvement in the SC appointed mediation committee, and his ideas swung Muslim opinion in favour," Swamy highlighted.

In 2019 March, India's Apex court appointed a panel of mediators, including Shankar as one of them, to scour for a permanent solution to the decades-long Ayodhya dispute.

Incidentally, six seers from the southern state received an invitation from the Sri Ram Janmabhoomi Teerth Kshetra Trust for the bhumi puja (foundation stone laying ceremony) in Ayodhya on Wednesday.

The invited seers include Nirmalanatha Swamy from Adi Chinchingiri Mutt, Shivratreshvara Swamy of Suttur Mutt in Mysuru, Veerendra Hegde from Dharmasthala, Vidhushekara Bharat Swamy from Shringeri Mutt, Basava Madhara Chennaiah Swamy of Madharachennaya Peetha from Chitradurga and Vishwa Prasanna from Pejavarmatt.

Of these six invitees, only two are attending, Basava Madara Chennaiah and Nirmalanatha Swamy.

On Tuesday evening, Nirmalanatha Swamy has already reached the temple town in Uttar Pradesh's Ayodhya.