The Bharatiya Janata Party on Tuesday said the Ram Sethu affidavit fiasco has triggered a "full-scale civil war" in the United Progres Alliance following Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam leader M Karunanidhi's vitriolic remarks on Lord Ram and demands from within the Congress for resignation of Culture Minister Ambika Soni.
"It's a full-scale civil war in the UPA, a signal of collapse of this unnatural alliance," BJP spokesman Prakash Javadekar said at a news conference in Delhi.
The BJP leader, who flayed Karunanidhi for his remarks on Lord Ram, said he wondered why the ruling Congress stopped short of condemning them outright.
"Those remarks are more offensive than the affidavit (on the Ram Sethu). The Congress should explain its stand on them," Javadekar said.
He alleged that the UPA would soon break apart as he cited a string of statements by leaders of the ruling alliance against one another.
"National interest has become a casualty to this civil war in the UPA, which is evident from the statements of Jairam Ramesh and R K Dhawan aginst Ambika Soni. Then there is Sibal's spat with the Left. The UPA is a sinking vessel," Javadekar said.
The BJP leader maintained that his party was not opposed to the Sethusamudram project, but wanted that it should be realigned.
Party sources, however, say the Rashtria Swayamsevak Sangh wants the Vishwa Hindu Parishad to lead the Ram Sethu campaign.
The VHP too has warned against politicisation of the issue.
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