Crusaders of the Ram Janambhoomi in Ayodhya- Lal Krishna Advani, Murli Manohar Joshi and Uma Bharti on Saturday hailed the Supreme Court verdict clearing the way for the construction of Ram Mandir.
Senior BJP leader Advani, 92, wholeheartedly welcomed the historic Supreme Court judgment on the Ayodhya issue, saying, "I join all my countrymen in wholeheartedly welcoming the historic judgement delivered by the five-member Constitution Bench of the Supreme Court in the Ayodhya matter."
In a statement, Advani said: "I stand vindicated, and feel deeply blessed, that the Supreme Court has given its unanimous verdict paving the way for the construction of a magnificent temple for Lord Ram at Ram Janmabhoomi in Ayodhya," he added. Describing this as a moment of "fulfilment" for him, Advani, said "God Almighty" had given him an opportunity to make his own humble contribution to the mass movement, which he termed as the biggest since India's Freedom Movement. He further said now that the prolonged Mandir-Masjid dispute in Ayodhya has come to an end, the time has come to leave all contention and acrimony behind and embrace communal concord and peace.
The Ram Janambhoomi movement which catapulted the BJP to the national limelight in the 1990s was conceived by Ramchandra Paramhans, engineered by Ashok Singhal and charioted by LK Advani. Till then, it was a cause advocated by sant Ramchandra Paramhans who headed the Ram Janmabhoomi Nyas and some other small Hindu groups.
In the late 1980s, BJP veteran Advani became the political face of the movement, giving it heft and wide publicity. Advani made it a political issue and brought it to the forefront of the country's discourse.
Senior BJP leader Murli Manohar Joshi, one of the accused in the Babri Masjid demolition case, said the trust that will be responsible for the construction of a Ram temple would have to be considerate about keeping people united. "The peace and harmony in the country should be maintained and efforts should be made to implement the verdict," Joshi said. Terming the judgement as "historic", the veteran BJP leader said it should be accepted with an "open mind" by all communities.
BJP leader Uma Bharti expressed her delight on Supreme Court's verdict on Ayodhya land dispute. She said that SC has taken impartial and magnificent decision. The elections would now be contested on real issues like roti, kapda and education. No more elections would now be contested on the Ram mandir issue," she said. Bharti hailed veteran leader Lal Krishna Advani for his role in temple movement by saying that Advani is the one who challenged pseudo-secularism and because of him the party is here now.
Bharti, who met Advani following the verdict at his residence, to bow her head at his feet stayed for about an hour. The former Union minister, who was a key figure herself in the saffron agitation, said Advani's devotion to temple cause is at the root of the BJP's success and it is coming back to power for another term.
Advani, she said, changed the communal motives ascribed to the issue of nationalism and showed that it can change the country, she said. Bharti also said that the dispute was "communalism vs secularism" and it was Advani who "exposed the pseudo-secularism drama". She also praised late Vishwa Hindu Parishad stalwart Ashok Singhal for spearheading the movement.