PM Modi's former principal secretary Nripendra Misra appointed as Ram Temple construction panel head

Vishwa Hindu Parishad's Mahant Nritya Gopal Das and Champat Rai have been appointed as the president and general secretary of the panel respectively.

Rai told media that the decision to open an account at Ayodhya branch of State Bank of India (SBI) to receive donations for the construction of the temple has also been taken.

Earlier on Feb 5, Modi had announced in Parliament that his cabinet cleared the formation of the trust as per the directions of the Supreme Court.

Addressing the Lok Sabha, Modi had said, "The Supreme Court had given the judgment in favor of Ram Temple. It had also asked the Sunni Waqf Board to be given 5 acres of land. This morning, in a meeting, major decisions have been taken in line with the judgment of the Supreme Court."

On Nov 9 last year, the Supreme Court passed a judgement with 2:1 ratio stating the disputed Ayodhya site belongs to Hindus but granted a separate five-acre land for the Muslims to build a mosque.

The top court had directed the Centre to form a trust to build the temple, the construction of which was a promise by the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in the 2019 General Elections.

The Supreme Court verdict was delivered by a five-member bench headed by then Chief Justice of India Ranjan Gogoi.

The other judges are Justice SA Bobde, Justice DY Chandrachud, Justice Ashok Bhushan and Justice Abdul Nazeer. 

(Image Credit: UNI)