SC verdict a decisive step towards construction of Ram temple in Ayodhya: VHP

The Vishva Hindu Parishad (VHP) on Saturday described the Supreme Court verdict on the Ayodhya land dispute as a "decisive step" towards construction of a "grand" Ram temple and urged the central government to take speedy steps on the directions issued by the top court.

The Supreme Court verdict is not the end of the story, its the beginning of it, VHP working president Alok Kumar said at a press conference when asked if his outfit will now raise the Kashi (Varanasi) and Mathura issues.

The VHP which joined the Ram Janmbhoomi movement in 1984 had also been raising issues related to the Gyanvapi mosque in Varanasi and Krishna Janmbhoomi in Mathura simultaneously.

The Supreme Court in a historic verdict on Saturday backed the construction of a Ram temple by a trust at the disputed site in Ayodhya, and ruled that an alternative five-acre plot must be found for a mosque in the town.

He, however, said the VHP is currently focussed on construction of a grand Ram temple in Ayodhya and it has no time to raise any other demands.

"About Kashi and Mathura, I must make it clear that Supreme Court judgement is not the end of the story, it is the beginning," Kumar said.

This important verdict is a "significant and decisive" step towards the construction of a grand temple of Sri Ram, which is expected to be constructed at the earliest, he said.

Kumar lauded the judgement and described it as one of the "greatest" judicial verdicts in the world and added that the Supreme Court judges discharged their responsibilities very well.

Hoping that a grand Ram temple in Ayodhya will be constructed soon, he claimed that almost 60 per cent of pillars and beams of the shrine are ready.

"We expect that the central government will now expeditiously take further steps, as directed in the judgment of the Supreme Court towards facilitating construction of a grand temple in Ayodhya."