Apologise on Ram Setu, Advani tells Sonia, Manmohan

Bhopal, Sep 22 (UNI) Taking umbrage at the UPA government stand on the Ram Setu issue, senior BJP leader L K Advani today asked Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and UPA chairperson Sonia Gandhi to publicly apologise for ''hurting the people's feelings by questioning the existence of Lord Ram and the Ram Setu''.

''Even Mughals and the British never mustered courage to question the existence of Lord Ram, but the UPA government had crossed limits questioning the birth of Lord Ram'', Mr Advani said at a massive public meeting here coinciding with the BJP's three-day national executive meeting.

''The Ram Setu was being demolished in a calculated manner and it was evident from Government lawyer Gopal Subramaniam's claim that the affidavit, filed in Supreme Court, was prepared under instructions from others'', Mr Advani said.

''Lord Ram sybolises the nation's faith and it is unchallengeable'', he said, adding nobody else is held in such high esteem as Lord Ram.

Shipping Minister T Balu's insistence on going ahead with the Setusamudram project indicated a conspiracy to demolish the Ram Setu, he added.

UNI