BJP asks Centre to tender apology on Ramsethu issue

Agartala, Sep 13: The BJP today threatened to launch a countrywide agitation if the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) did not withdraw its affidavit submitted to the Supreme Court yesterday on Ramsethu.

BJP president Rajnath Singh alleged the UPA Government was trying to trigger an inter-religious conflict by denying the existence of Lord Ram and the epic Ramayana ''despite a large number of evidences''.

The BJP would support the move of the Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) and Shiv Sena for spearheading countrywide movement against the government's latest effort to denigrate the Ramayana, Mr Singh said.

''The government should withdraw the affidavit and tender an apology to the people for making derogatory statements against the 'Ramcharitmanas' and other historical facts of the Ramayana,'' Mr Singh said.

The Congress party has always favoured caste and religion-based politics and it was now a crude attempt to insult ''our culture, civilisation, heritage and Hindu sentiments,'' Mr Singh alleged. He said the latest attempt of the UPA Government was towards its pursuant goal of appeasement politics, he added.

The BJP chief said he was astonished to see the ''poor knowledge'' of the Congress leaders.

''If, according to Congress leaders, there is no Ram, why do they believe that the Father of the Nation had contemplated the 'Ramrajya'? Why have the pictures of Lord Ram and Lord Krishna been depicted in the Indian Constitution?'' Mr Singh asked.

He also alleged that the Congress party was challenging the beliefs and dishonouring the religions practices of the majority Hindu population of the country.

UNI