By Rajeev Khanna, IANS
Bhopal : The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) Friday gave indications of firming up its ties with the AIADMK with party spokesperson Ravi Shankar Prasad praising AIADMK chief J. Jayalalitha for her stand on the Ram Sethu controversy.
In an interaction with the media, Prasad said: “Very soon you will come to know about our new allies in the south.” He did not specify Jayalalitha’s name.
But to a pinpointed query on the BJP’s relations with her in the past and the party’s opposition to her during the episode of the Kanchi Shankaracharya’s arrest, Prasad said: “She has taken a strong stand on the Ram Sethu. It is true that we had differences with her in the past, but look at the way she has stood up on the issues of national interest.”
He added that Jayalalitha has stood up against terrorism and always supported the need for an effective anti-terror law.
“She is the only leader who has taken a tough stand on the acquittal of the prime accused in the Coimbatore bomb blast case, Abdul Nasir Mahdani. While the Congress and the Left have been taking a soft stand on the matter, only she came out against him (Mahdani) publicly,” Prasad said.
Prasad also chose the occasion to attack Jayalalitha’s arch political rival Tamil Nadu Chief Minister K. Karunanidhi for his statements on the Ram Sethu and on Lord Ram. He said: “Karunanidhi should understand that freedom of speech is not a license for blasphemy.”
He went on to say that Karunanidhi had himself acknowledged the importance of the Ram Sethu in the cultural and civilisational milieu of the country, in a foreword written by him for a District Gazetteer in 1972.
The BJP has urged Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and Congress President Sonia Gandhi to persuade Karunanidhi to withdraw his remarks on Lord Ram, which it described as “derogatory” and “blasphemous”.
Jayalalitha had moved the apex court earlier this month, seeking protection for the Ram Sethu, which is considered by many Hindus to be the bridge referred to in the “Ramayana”.