New Delhi: The Ram Setu debate has refused to die down as the BJP stepped up its offensive on Friday, demanding immediate dismissal of all DMK ministers from the Union Cabinet if the UPA fails to persuade Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M Karunanidhi to withdraw his 'blasphemous' remarks on Lord Ram.
Launching a diatribe against the UPA coalition at the Centre over the Ram Setu issue, BJP President Rajnath Singh told his party's National Executive in Bhopal that Hindus can't ever tolerate such insult on their faith and tradition.
"Even Aurangzeb or the Britishers never questioned the existence of Lord Ram," he said.
Speaking at length on the Ram Setu issue, Rajnath Singh described Karunanidhi's statement on Lord Ram as "ugly and deserves to be condemned in the strongest language possible".
"MK is part of the UPA-led coalition and it is the duty of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and UPA Chairperson Sonia Gandhi to persuade Karunanidhi to withdraw the derogatory, offensive and blasphemous remarks on Lord Ram," he said from his prepared speech.
He said if Karunanidhi did not withdraw his remarks, all DMK ministers should be dismissed forthwith.
BJP leader Yashwant Sinha also lashed out at the Tamil Nadu Chief Minister for his comments on Ram. "I feel Karnunandhi has lost his mental balance. He is talking all slander and wouldn’t have dared to say this about any other religion," he said.
On Thursday, senior BJP leader LK Advani had asked Karunanidhi to retract his 'anti-Hindu' remarks on Lord Ram and the Ramayana, inviting further slander of Ram by the DMK chief.
"I am appalled by the blatantly and provocatively anti-Hindu statements made by Mr Karunanidhi," Advani later said, and wondered whether he would have spoken so recklessly if the issue concerned any revered personality or symbol of a minority community.
"What he has done is indeed, perversion of secularism, which cannot be allowed to go unprotested and unchecked. Even an ordinary citizen has a Constitutional duty not to hurt the religious sentiments of any community," Advani said.
"I respect atheists. I respect Mr Karunaidhi being an atheist. But an atheist in US or any other country will not hurt the faiths of their own countrymen," he pointed out.
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