I stand vindicated, feel deeply blessed: LK Advani welcomes Ayodhya verdict

New Delhi, Nov 09: BJP veteran L K Advani on Saturday wholeheartedly welcomed the historic Supreme Court judgment on Ayodhya case saying that he stood vindicated and felt deeply blessed.

"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 Ramjanmabhhomi in Ayodhya", said the senior BJP leader.

Advani, a key architect of the Ram Janmabhoomi movement was the BJP's face for Ramjanmabhoomi movement and also took out a yatra in 1990 for building a Tam temple at the disputed site at Ayodhya.

Stressing that Ram and Ramayana occupy an esteemed place in India's cultural and civilisational heritage and Ram janmabhoomi (birthplace) holds a special and sacred place in the hearts of crores of countrymen, he said it is gratifying that their belief and sentiments have been respected.

Underlining that the judgment is the culmination of a long and contentious process over the last many decades, Advani, who has been the BJP's longest serving president, 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."

Advani, a key architect of the Ram Janmabhoomi movement

Struggling to find a space in the country's politics dominated by secular parties, the BJP under LK Advani hitched its bandwagon to the temple cause in its Palampur resolution in 1989, giving a defining Hindutva edge to its politics which until then had lacked a popular cause celebre.

The issue combined with its alliance with anti-Congress parties in 1989 won the BJP 85 seats in Lok Sabha elections against mere two in 1984.

Advani launched his famous 'Rath Yatra' from Somnath temple in Gujarat, drawing people in their thousands as his chariot rolled through the country's heartland rallying support for building Ram temple at the disputed site in Ayodhya.