Prime minister Narendra Modi has announced in parliament the cabinet decision to form a trust to oversee the construction of a Ram temple in Ayodhya, as ordered by the supreme court.

“On the basis of the SC direction, my government has today given approval to proposal for creation of 'Shri Ram Janma Bhoomi Tirtha Kshetra' trust. The Trust will be free to take all decisions regarding the creation of a magnificent Ram Temple in Ayodhya,” the PM said on Wednesday.

He said that on the directions of the court, the government requested the Uttar Pradesh government to allocate five acres of land to the Sunni Waqf board, and the state government acceded to the request.

“Keeping in mind the construction of the magnificent Ram Temple and the spirit of the devotees who would come to pay obeisance to Ram Lalla in future, the government has taken another important decision. It has decided that whole of the approximately 67.703 acres of acquired land will be transferred to the thus created Sri Ram Janma Bhoomi Tirtha Kshetra Trust,” PM added.

Modi also praised the maturity shown by the country in maintaining peace and harmony following the supreme court’s decision on the long-pending and contentious Ayodhya issue late last year. He reiterated the same in a separate tweet where he said, “The people of India displayed remarkable faith in democratic processes and procedures. I salute the 130 crore people of India.”

He stated, “We are all members of one family. This is the ethos of India. We want every Indian to be happy and healthy. Guided by ‘Sabka Saath, Sabka Vikas, Sabka Vishwas’, we are working for the welfare of every Indian.

“Our culture and our traditions bestow upon us the philosophy of ‘Vasudhaiva Kutumbkam’ and ‘Sarve Bavantu Sukhinah’ and inspire us to move ahead with this spirit. … People of all faiths in India, whether they are Hindus, Muslims, Sikhs, Christians, Buddhists, Parsisor Jains, are all members of one large family. Together, let us all work in the direction of building a grand Ram Mandir,” he added.

He also referred to his visit of Punjab on November 9, 2019 “for dedicating the Kartarpur Sahib corridor to the nation, on the occasion of the 550th Prakash Parva of Guru Nanakdev Ji. It was in this divine environment that I came to know about the historical judgment of the highest court of the country on the subject of Ram Janm Bhoomi”.

In this judgement, the court decided that the inner and outer courtyard of the disputed land in Ramjanm Bhoomi belongs to ‘Bhagwan Shri Ram Lalla Virajman’. The court had also stated that the central government and the state government, in consultation with each other, will allot five acres of land to the Sunni Central Waqf Board.

“In accordance with directions of the supreme court, my government has prepared a detailed scheme for construction of a magnificent temple of Bhagwan Shri Ram at his birth place and other connected matters.