Kolkata/Ahmedabad, Dec 7 (ANI): West Bengal Chief Minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee has questioned the historical existence of Lord Ram thus opening a Pandoras Box in connection with the Sethu Samundram project.
Where is the historical proof of Rams birth? If Ramayana is history and Ram is a historical figure then where is the proof, Bhattacharjee said while speaking at a here to mark the 15th anniversary of the demolition of Babri Masjid.
Reacting to Bhattacharjee’s remarks, senior BJP leader Arun Jaitley said in Ahmedabad that Ram is a matter of faith for majority of Indians.
I believe it could be personal view of the leftists and we are fully in disagreement with this view, said Jaitley.
Few months back, Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M Karunanidhi, a self claimed atheist, had said the existence of Lord Ram was a fallacy as tall as the Himalayas.
His comments had irked Hindu groups over the controversial Sethusamudram Shipping Canal Project (SSCP).
The project will dredge a channel in a narrow strip of sea between India and Sri Lanka, reducing distances and cutting costs for freight traffic for ships moving from Arabian Sea to Bay of Bengal.
However, Hindu groups have been opposing the 560 million dollars project, saying it would destroy the ‘holy’ Ram Sethu, a 48-kilometre chain of limestone shoals that once linked Rameswaram in Tamil Nadu to Mannar in Sri Lanka. (ANI)