By IANS
New Delhi : The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) Tuesday “dared” the Congress to clarify its stand on Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M. Karunanidhi’s statement asking whether Lord Ram was a civil engineer and if so when he built the “so-called bridge”.
“Raising questions about the college from where Lord Ram had acquired an engineering degree is not only insulting but a direct affront on the faith of Hindus. The BJP dares the Congress to clarify whether it approves or disapproves of the stand taken by Karunanidhi,” BJP spokesperson Prakash Javadekar told reporters here.
Giving his take on the controversial issue of the Sethusamudram canal which the BJP objects to on grounds that it would damage the Ram Sethu or bridge that dates back to the Ramayana, Karunanidhi had said in Erode Saturday night: “Who is this Ramar (Lord Ram)? In which engineering college did he study and become a civil engineer? When did he build this so-called bridge? Is there any evidence for this?”
He said the same day at Yercaud: “If it amounts to the project itself being shelved, then the DMK, which adheres to scientific, rational and progressive ideals, will not accept it.”
Reacting to the statement, the BJP leader said his party demanded that the Congress “come clean” on the remarks made by Karunanidhi, which he described as “more offensive” than the affidavit filed by the government in the Supreme Court questioning the historical veracity of the Ramayana.
Seizing on the differences within the Congress on the issue, the BJP pointed to the recent contradictory statements in the party over the affidavit and said: “The apparent full-scale civil war within the UPA (United Progressive Alliance) clearly indicates the near collapse of this unnatural alliance.
According to Javadekar, the demand of Minister of State for Commerce Jairam Ramesh and Congress leader R.K. Dhawan asking for Tourism and Culture Minister Ambika Soni’s resignation on the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) affidavit “unequivocally proves the existence of a civil war within the Congress darbar”.
And the DMK leader’s remarks, he said, further exposed the inherent contradictions within the UPA. The BJP spokesperson said he was “not against the project per se but seeks a new alignment that will not destroy the Ram Setu”.