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Even Valmiki says Lord Ram was a drunkard: Karuna

The war of words on the Ram setu issue hotted up today with BJP leader asking Tamil Nadu Chief Minister to withdraw his controversial remarks on Lord Ram.

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CHENNAI: After his controversial comment questioning Lord Ram’s “engineering qualifications for building the Ram Setu”, Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M Karunanidhi twisted the knife in the wound by referring to the Hindu god as a “drunkard”.

“I am not saying this…Valmiki has written that Ram is a drunkard. (BJP leader) Advani should read the Valmiki Ramayan,” Karunanidhi said on Thursday, without referring to the context in the Ramayana. A little earlier, Advani told reporters in Chennai that Karunanidhi should withdraw his (earlier) remarks on Ram, which were “an affront, pouring contempt on the religious feelings of a majority in the country.”

The atheist chief minister’s comments could add to the discomfiture of the Congress, which is already grappling for a way out of the faux pas committed on the Supreme Court affidavit filed on September 12. The affidavit, which doubted the historicity of Ram, had to be amended the next day.

But Karunanidhi, 84, has had no compunctions in riling about the Ram brigade and the BJP. So when law minister HR Bhardwaj observed that “Himalaya is Himalaya, Ganga is Ganga and Ram is Ram,” Karunanidhi retorted: “As much as Himalaya and Ganga are true, that much Ram is a lie.” Reacting to Karunanidhi’s latest salvo, BJP national general secretary L Ganesan told DNA: “He seems to have lost his balance. While there is no doubt about Lord Ram’s existence, we are willing to debate his habits,” he said.  Turn to back page, p18

Janata Party leader and a complainant in the Supreme Court against the Sethusamudram project, Subramanian Swamy said Karunanidhi should quit politics if he cannot prove what he has said.

“Karunanidhi has had no education and has not read the Valmiki Ramayan. His is only hearsay knowledge. He has been a cinema scriptwriter and fiction has become his mental attitude. He has turned senile and it is time he quit politics,” Swamy said.

Meanwhile, the Congress is upset with Karunanidhi’s posture. “We did not expect him to withdraw his earlier remarks, but he should not have made further comments. This doesn’t help us politically,” an All India Congress Committee member said. The BJP, expecting snap polls, has found an opportunity to revive its Ram plank.

DMK insiders say Karunanidhi wants to face elections with his rationalist colours. “The DMK government has been implementing its poll promises of Rs 2-per-kg rice, free colour TV sets, land and LPG connections. What better time to test the waters baring your true self?” says a DMK functionary.

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