The Bharatiya Janata Party on Sunday demanded an unconditional apology from Prime Minister Manmohan Singh [Images] and Congress chief Sonia Gandhi [Images] for the controversial affidavit on Ram Sethu, "which hurt the sentiments of crores of people."

"Though the UPA government is now trying to come out of the fiasco, the affidavit filed in the Supreme Court speaks the mindset of the Central government led by Congress party," senior BJP leader M Venkaiah Naidu told reporters in Hyderabad on Sunday.

"It was a classic case of how the government was casual and careless in dealing with such sensitive issues," Naidu said.

In a damage control exercise, the government suspended two officers of Archaeological Survey of India and withdrew the controversial affidavit on Lord Ram, the BJP leader said adding, the extent of damage would be known when the Congress party goes to the people.

The image of both Central and state governments has taken a severe beating because of the way the government has been handling sensitive issues like Ram Sethu, Indo-US nuclear deal and farmers' problems.