The Bharatiya Janata Party on Wednesday accused the Congress-led United Progressive Alliance government of "blasphemy" by telling the Supreme Court that there was no historical evidence to establish the existence of Lord Ram or the other characters in Ramayana.
"This is sheer blasphemy," senior BJP leader Vijay Kumar Malhotra said reacting to an affidavit filed by the Archaeological Survey of India rejecting the claim of the existence of the Ram Sethu or Adam's bridge in the area where the the Sethusamudram project was under construction.
"It's an insult to the Hindu faith. We also wonder why Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and Congress chief Sonia Gandhi have been going for the Dussehra festival if their government does not believe in Lord Ram's existence," he said.
The BJP and other constituents of the Sangh Parivar are opposing the Sethusamudram project saying it would damage an undersea bridge believed to be built by Lord Ram.
"Today, the government in its affidavit says there is no evidence to prove the bridge was built by Lord Ram or that Lord Ram ever existed. This is an attack on Hindu sentiments, a ferocious one," Malhotra said.