The Bharatiya Janata Party on Monday hit out at Tamil Nadu Chief Minister K Karunanidhi for his controversial statements on Lord Ram.

Addressing a press conference in New Delhi, party spokesperson Ravi Shankar Prasad said the Tamil Nadu chief minister's remarks amounted to violation of Section 295(a) of Indian Penal Code for hurting the sentiments of another community.

"We would like to know from Karunanidhi if he would make a similar statement against religious head of any other religion; chance are he may not," Prasad said.

He demanded that Prime Minister Manmohan Singh [Images], who is now recuperating at the All India Institute of Medical Sciences after a minor surgery, and UPA chairperson Sonia Gandhi [Images] tender an apology to the nation for the controversial affidavits filed in the Supreme Court.

PTI adds:

In Erode, Tamil Nadu, Karunanidhi charged communal forces with attempts to stop the work on the Sethusamudram project by invoking the name of Lord Ram.

"Some say there was a person over 17 lakh years ago. His name was Ram. Do not touch the bridge (Ram Setu) constructed by him. Who is this Ram? From which engineering college did he graduate? Is there any proof for this," Karunanidhi, a known atheist, asked at a public meeting late Sunday night on the occasion of DMK founder C N Annadurai's 99th birth anniversary.