BJP warns Centre against hurting Hindu sentiments

Ruling out a compromise on the Ram Setu issue, Bharatiya Janata Party on Tuesday warned the Centre not to play with the religious sentiments of Hindus.

Addressing a news conference here, BJP president Rajnath Singh said his party would fight the Setu Samudram project tooth and nail but denied that he was trying to politicise the issue.

He asked the Centre to explain as to whether it had any scientific evidence to question the existence of Lord Ram. He said neither Aurangzeb nor the Britishers, who ruled the country for several years, pointed fingers at Lord Ram. "Questioning the existence of Lord Ram is like asking your father to prove that he is your father," he said.

"The name of the our country itself is Bharat who was the younger brother of Lord Ram. Even Gandhiji breathed his last saying Hey Ram. He talked about Ram Rajya. Will somebody deny this," he asked.

Singh said Ram Setu was not an issue of history or science but a matter of faith and belief. "Ram Setu is to Hindus what Mecca is to Muslims and Jerusalem is to Christians," he said.

He was here to address a public meeting on the occasion of 'Telangana liberation day' organised by the State party unit last night.

He alleged that the other constituents of UPA were silent on the issue as they were also in favour of vote bank politics.

Lashing out at the UPA Government for its soft approach towards terrorism, the BJP president alleged that it neither had a policy nor the political will to deal with the menace.

"It is shameful that the working committee of the United Nations Security Council has raised serious questions on India's ability to fight terrorism and the Government should take note of it," he said.

The counter-terrorism committee set up after 9/11 to implement the resolution No 1373 had said that India lagged behind in its efforts to counter terrorism, he said.

Singh said the ISI aided sleeper modules within the country were more dangerous than a nuclear bomb.

The BJP president asked the Government to intensify diplomatic efforts to enforce the UN resolution on Pakistan and Bangladesh, who were not cooperating on war against terrorism.

"The centre should mount pressure on the UN to warn Pakistan and Bangladesh and if they do not comply with the resolution No 1373, economic sanction should be imposed on both the countries," he said.

On the recent twin blasts in Hyderabad, the BJP president alleged that some parties were trying to save the accused. The perpetrators of the crime should be brought to book irrespective of their caste and religion, he demanded.