'I stand vindicated': Advani, who spearheaded Ram Mandir movement, on Ayodhya verdict

"I join all my countrymen in wholeheartedly welcoming the historic judgement delivered by the five-member Constitution Bench of the Supreme Court today in the Ayodhya matter," Advani said in a statement.

"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 Ram Janmabhoomi in Ayodhya," he added.

Describing this as a moment of "fulfilment" for him, Advani, 92, said "God Almighty" had given him an opportunity to make his own humble contribution to the mass movement, which he termed as the biggest since India's Freedom Movement.

He further 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.