On the backfoot over Nandigram, West Bengal Chief Minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee has stoked another controversy by questioning the existence of Lord Ram.
KOKLATA/ NEW DELHI: Reigniting the Ram Sethu controversy, West Bengal Chief Minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee has questioned the existence of Lord Ram triggering an angry reaction from the BJP which said the comment constituted an 'offence.'
"Ram is a figment of a poet's imagination and Ram Sethu is a natural formation under the sea," Bhatacharjee told a meeting to mark the 15th anniversary of the demolition of Babri Masjid on Thursday.
He said the Sethusamudram project was being opposed by the Sangh Parivar on religious ground, but it was vital for economic development of the region.
BJP leader L K Advani said in New Delhi the Chief Minister's comments were "highly objectionable" not only politically but also under the law as it is an offence to hurt the religious sentiments of any community and in this case it was the majority community.
Advani's party colleague Sushma Swaraj said Ram was a matter of faith in India. " Ram is the soul of India and no Indian irrespective of religion can question his existence," she said.
State BJP general secretary Rahul Sinha said the remarks were an attempt to appease the Muslim vote bank after the fiasco in Nandigram.
Bhattacharjee's remarks came three months after Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M Karunanidhi questioned the existence of Lord Ram generating a country-wide controversy.
BJP leader Arun Jaitley told newsmen in Ahmedabad, a large number of population of this country have faith in Lord Ram and so Left parties should not make comments on the Ram Sethu issue".
He said the Left should refrain from making any comments on 'issues of faith' at a time when elections were round the corner in Gujarat.
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
)
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
)
)
)
)
)
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}