The Centre on Friday ruled out the direct involvement of Kanchi Shankaracharya Jayendra Saraswati in the Ayodhya issue.

"In my opinion, it is not proper now to involve a person of his stature in the Ayodhya tangle, but we will seek his blessings at every step," Minister of State for Home Swami Chinmayananda said after meeting the seer, who arrived in Delhi en-route to Ladakh to attend the Sindhu Darshan festival.

"We don't want him to get embroiled in any controversy," he said.

He, however, did not rule out discussing the issue with the seer in Ladakh.

Earlier, on his arrival at the Kamakshi Temple in southwest Delhi, the shankaracharya said he would keep away from the issue.

"Now politics has entered. I will keep quiet," he said.

He also ruled out meeting Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee in this regard.

The seer met Vishwa Hindu Parishad chief Ashok Singhal for some time at the airport, but he declined to say what was discussed.

Press Trust of India