Hindutva organisations such as the Vishwa Hindu Parishad and the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh welcomed the Supreme Court’s decision to grant the disputed site in Ayodhya to a trust for the construction of a Ram temple. VHP Working President Alok Kumar claimed that 60% of the pillars and beams for the Ram temple were ready, PTI reported.

Kumar said the Centre should now take speedy steps on the orders issued by the top court. He said the judgement was a “decisive step” towards the construction of a “grand” Ram temple. “Today is a day of happiness for Hindus the world over,” Kumar said.

RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat also welcomed the decision. “This case was going on for decades and it has reached the right conclusion,” he said at a press conference. “This should not be seen as a win or loss for anyone. We also welcome everyone’s efforts to maintain peace and harmony in society.”

Earlier in the day, a five-judge Constitution bench of the Supreme Court ruled that a separate plot of five acres be allotted to Muslims for the construction of a mosque. The Babri Masjid had stood on the disputed land before being demolished by Hindutva activists in 1992.

Varun Kumar Sinha, the lawyer for the Hindu Mahasabha, called it a “historic judgement”, ANI reported. “With this judgement, the Supreme Court has given the message of unity in diversity,” he asserted.

On Friday, members of the RSS in Uttar Pradesh had expressed confidence about the verdict, The Quint reported. “Hope is that a grand Ram temple is built,” RSS member Yatendra Pratap Singh said following a meeting of the organisation in Mathura. “The time for the temple being built is coming.”

Another member, identified as Vikas Sharma, said: “Now, many parties are trying to bring Hindus into their fold. Earlier it was not like that. That is how it should be anyway, politics cannot represent just one section.”

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