Build Ram temple as per Sompura's design: VHP to govt

The VHP on Sunday said the Centre should take swift action on the Supreme Court judgment paving the way for a Ram temple in Ayodhya and demanded the structure be built as per the design prepared by architect Chandrakant Sompura on its request.

Renowned temple architect Sompura was asked to prepare the design in 1989 by then VHP chief Ashok Singhal and it was circulated among devotees across the country, the organisation's working president Alok Kumar told PTI.

"We expect the new temple to be built accordingly," Kumar added.

According to Vishva Hindu Parishad (VHP) office-bearers, the work on carving stones and building pillars for the temple has progressed a lot and these should be used in the construction.

In a special meeting of VHP office-bearers here, it was decided to urge upon the government to take swift action in building the temple, they said.

"In the implementation of this verdict, the roles of the central government and the state government of Uttar Pradesh have also been determined. While expressing confidence that these governments are alert and active towards their responsibilities, they were also requested to take prompt action," VHP spokesperson Vinod Bansal said in a statement.

He said a resolution was passed extending gratitude to all sants, historians, jurists, experts of Archaeological Survey of India whose untiring diligence helped the court of law in arriving at this judgement.

Settling a fractious issue that goes back more than a century, the Supreme Court in a historic verdict on Saturday backed the construction of a Ram temple by a government trust at the disputed site in Ayodhya and ruled that an alternative five-acre plot must be found for a mosque in the Hindu holy town.