Assam CM Sonowal, BJP leader Naqvi term reaction of people to SC verdict on Ayodhya positive

Assam Chief Minister Sarbananda Sonowal and BJP leader Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi on Saturday said that people have responded positively to the Supreme Court judgment on the Ayodhya matter.

"This is a democratic judgment. I firmly believe that people in the country will support it. I appeal all sections of society to maintain peace and tranquillity," Sonowal told reporters in Guwahati.

"I welcome the verdict in the Ayodhya case. Unity in diversity has connected the whole country. We should not see this verdict as a win or loss. We have to maintain peace, harmony and unity in the country. The reaction of all communities is very positive," Naqvi told ANI.

The Supreme Court on Saturday directed the Central government to hand over the disputed site at Ayodhya for the construction of a temple and set up a trust for the same.

The apex court further directed the government to give a suitable plot of land measuring five acres to the Sunni Waqf Board.

A five-judge constitution bench presided by Chief Justice Gogoi and comprising Justices SA Bobde, DY Chandrachud, Ashok Bhushan and S Abdul Nazeer passed the order on a batch of petitions against an order of the Allahabad High Court which trifurcated the site between the parties -- Ramlalla Virajman, Sunni Central Waqf Board and Nirmohi Akhara.

A decades-long legal dispute was fought by right-wing party Hindu Mahasabha, a sect of Hindu monks Nirmohi Akhara and Sunni Waqf Board over 2.77 acres of land in Ayodhya.