PM Narendra Modi announces Trust for construction of Ram Temple in Ayodhya

New Delhi : Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday announced that a trust has been formed to construct Ram Temple in Ayodhya, as ordered by the Supreme Court.

"My government has decided to set up a trust called Sri Ram Janmabhoomi Teertha Skshetra, which will take decisions independently on the construction of a Ram temple and related issues," PM Modi said in the Lok Sabha.

"Let us all support construction of grand Ram Temple in Ayodhya," he said, to shouts of "Jai Shri Ram" rising from the government benches.

PM Modi made it clear that the decision has been taken on the lines of Supreme Court's historic order in November that gave the disputed land in Ayodhya to Ram Lalla (infant Ram) and assigned an alternative five acres of land for a mosque to the Sunni Waqf Board.

The Supreme Court had given the government a three-month time to set up a trust for a temple responsible for its construction on the Babri Mosque site before it was razed by Hindu activists in 1992.

Two days before the Delhi election, questions have been raised about whether the announcement was a violation of the model code of conduct.