Speaking to in Parliament, Sawant said, "we welcome the Prime Minister's decision. It was Bala Sahib Thackeray's dream. He always emphasised that Ram temple should be built in Ayodhya. Even Chief Minister Udhav Thackeray during the Lok Sabha elections continuously repeated 'Pehle Mandir phir sarkar' (first temple then government). He also went to Ayodhya twice and offered prayers to Ram Lalla."
Sawant also informed that Maharashtra Chief Minister "will go there again and again," adding, "But the Supreme court is above all. The court gave its decision in favour of the temple, which no one could dare earlier. Therefore it is government's responsibility to implement court's order. The PM today has announced it in the Lok Sabha. It was already discussed in the meeting of the council of ministers. We welcome it and thank Prime Minister Modi.
When asked if Shiv Sena ally Congress will be disappointed for thanking the prime minister, he said, "it has nothing to do with our ally. We did not leave our ideology (despite being in the alliance with the Congress). Temple is a top priority for us."
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday announced in the Lok Sabha that the government has given approval to a proposal for "Shri Ramjanmabhoomi Tirtha Kshetra" trust to take care of the construction of a grand Ram temple in Ayodhya and other related issues.
Modi said that the historic decision was taken on Wednesday morning meeting of the Union cabinet in view of the Supreme Court's November 9 judgement on Ramjanmabhoomi issue.
( With inputs from IANS )