By IANS
New Delhi : Leader of Opposition L.K. Advani has asked Congress president Sonia Gandhi and Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to apologise to Hindus for filing an affidavit in the Supreme Court denying the historical existence of Lord Ram and hurting the sentiments of Hindus worldwide.
He held Sonia Gandhi personally responsible for this saying, “formally the prime minister but actually the Congress president is responsible. We don’t accept their plea that the Congress president is angry therefore they are submitting a counter-affidavit. This is a false tactic.”
Advani spoke to newsmen Thursday after presiding over a meeting of the office- bearers of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) at the party headquarters on the issue of the Archaeological Society of India (ASI) affidavit in the Supreme Court denying the historical existence of Ram.
He said he had tried to speak to Manmohan Singh over phone Wednesday. But when he could not get across to him, he spoke to his media adviser Sanjaya Baru and asked him to convey the hurt feelings of the Hindus to the Prime Minister.
Threatening a nationwide agitation by the youth wing of the BJP, Advani also demanded immediate withdrawal of the affidavit and added, “I have heard that they have said they will give a supplementary,” but dismissed it saying, “Supplementing is not the same as withdrawing it.”
He also demanded “an inquiry panel to fix the ministerial responsibility for this blunder.”
Lastly he sought a guarantee that “Ram Setu must be protected by redesigning the Sethusamudram (shipping canal) project.”
Advani said, “The BJP deems the UPA government’s anti-Hindu act to be a very grave development in the political and social history of India. I would like to warn the leadership of the Congress party and the government that, unless corrective action is taken immediately, it will face a massive sustained and peaceful protest action all over the country. The BJP will participate in this agitation in full force,” said the former home minister.
Advani said, “It is blasphemous at worst and insensitivity and recklessness at best for a government claiming to be secular to trash the deepest and noblest sensibilities of the Hindus. In one stroke of its legal pen, the government has sought to negate all that the Hindus consider sacred in their faith.”
A similar but much milder statement was issued by party president Rajnath Singh from Agartala. He too has called for fixing the responsibility but neither blamed the prime minister nor named Sonia Gandhi for this.
BJP sources said this morning Advani called up Rajnath and had a long discussion with him on the subject. When Rajnath informed him that he was leaving for Agartala, Advani impressed upon him the necessity of the party discussing the issue without any further delay. That is how the BJP office-bearers meeting was presided over by Advani.