Government to withdraw affidavit on Lord Ram

The Central government on Thursday decided to withdraw the offending remarks on Lord Ram's existence in its affidavit before the Supreme Court on the Sethu Samudram Shipping Canal Project.

Instead, it will file a supplementary affidavit on the case on Friday.

The move comes following reports that United Progressive Alliance chairperson Sonia Gandhi had pulled up the Union Law Minister H R Bharadwaj over the remarks and asked him to clarify the government's position over the existence of Lord Ram.

Talking to media persons on Thursday, Bhardwaj said the government did not intend to question the existence of Lord Ram, who is an article of faith for millions of Hindus in India.

"I was told by Additional Solicitor General Gopal Subramanium that Sonia Gandhi was very upset about the error. Orders have been issued to file an additional affidavit in the Supreme Court tomorrow and delete the controversial paragraphs," Bhardwaj said.

The minister also admitted that Leader of the Opposition L K Advani had drawn his attention to the controversial paragraphs and lodged his protest.