Modi announces 'magnificent' Hindu temple

India's prime minister on Wednesday announced that the government had finalized plans to build a Hindu temple on the site of a demolished mosque in the northern Indian city of Ayodhya.

The authority, Shri Ram Janmbhoomi Teerth Kshetra, will oversee all decisions related to the construction of the temple devoted to the Hindu deity, Ram. 

The news follows a verdict of the Supreme Court of India in November 2019, allowing the construction on the site which was originally occupied by the Babri Masjid, a 16th century mosque. The Babri Masjid was demolished by extremist Hindus in December 1992. In the November verdict, the Supreme Court had unanimously ordered a government-run trust to be set upto pave the way for the construction of the temple.

In his address to parliament, Modi said that about 5 acres of land would be allotted to the Sunni Central Waqf board, which was contesting the claim of the Ram devotees, while the Hindu temple would be built on 67.7 acres of land.    

Modi thanked Indian citizens for their "mature" behavior and faith in India's democratic system regarding the verdict. He also added that people of religious faiths in India were "members of one large family."

Modi's statement comes at a time when India is seeing large-scale protests against the implementation of the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA), which is seen as discriminatory towards Muslims.