The Congress has welcomed the efforts by the concerned parties to find an amicable and peaceful settlement of the Ayodhya issue. Briefing media after a meeting of the Congress Working Committee now called the Steering Committee, party General Secretary Janardhan Dwivedi said that the Congress respects the judicial process to resolve the Ramajanma Bhumi-Babri Masjid title suit and the final decision of the Supreme Court must be awaited as and when an appeal is filed. He said that the Committee also underlined that the verdict of the Allahabad High Court does not in any way condone the demolition of the Babri Masjid on the 6th of December 1992 which the party described as a shameful and criminal act saying that the perpetrators must be brought to justice. The consensus emerged at the meeting on the Ayodhya issue says that the distortion of the verdict by communal forces is detrimental to the larger national interest as it will cause harm to the nation's move and desire for peace and harmony.Home Minister P. Chidambaram briefed the members on the initiatives taken with regard to Jammu and Kashmir. Party President Sonia Gandhi welcomed the steps taken by the government. The Committee also decided to hold the plenary session of the party on the 20th of December. A full fledged meeting of the newly elected AICC members will be held before Diwali. A group also has been formed to go into the issue of amending the party's constitution. Prime Minister and the Finance Minter were among those attended the meeting. The Congress Working Committee, the highest decision making body of the party was converted into the Steering Committee after the recent re-election of Sonia Gandhi as the President of the party.Meanwhile ,the BJP today criticized the Congress for linking the Allahabad High Court verdict on the Ayodhya title suits with the demolition of the disputed structure. Talking to reporters in New Delhi today the Party Spokesperson Nirmala Sitharaman said that the BJP respected the judgement on the issue and at this stage the party does not see the need to link the judgement with the demolition.