In Parliament, PM announces trust for constructing Ayodhya's Ram Temple

Last year, an SC bench ended the decades-old sensitive case concerning 2.77 acres of land in the temple town.

The apex court green-lit the construction of a Ram Temple at the site and ordered that 5 acres of land should be handed over to Muslims for a mosque.

In its verdict, the court slammed Babri Masjid demolition but also spoke about the faith of Hindus.

The historic verdict elated BJP, a party that has been calling for Ram Mandir's construction since its inception.

In the late 80s and early 90s, BJP fanned the Ram Janmabhoomi movement, with its veteran LK Advani taking out a massive Rath Yatra from Gujarat's Somnath Mandir to Ayodhya.

When PM Modi got a ground-shattering mandate last year, pressure grew on him to expedite construction.

In what qualifies as a rare occasion, PM Modi spoke in the Lower House at zero hour and hailed the Ayodhya verdict.

He said, "After the verdict on the Ram Janmabhoomi issue came out, the people of India displayed remarkable faith in democratic processes and procedures. I salute the 130 crore people of India."

The BJP leader asked for support in constructing the temple.

The BJP-led Uttar Pradesh government has also allotted 5 acres of land to Sunni Waqf Board for the mosque.

Other than constituting the trust, the government has also decided to give 67 acres of land near the mandir area, PM Modi said.

"We want people of all religions and community in India to thrive," he said, amid loud claps from MPs of his party.

In January 2019, the Centre approached SC seeking to return the 67 acres of "undisputed" land to the rightful owners — the Mandir trust.

This contradicted two earlier statements of the top court wherein it was ordered that the status quo should be maintained to ensure peace and tranquility in the region.

Unless the Ayodhya issue is solved, the land shouldn't be touched, SC said.