“If we have gone wrong, we will correct it. The idea is to go ahead with the project. We have to see there is no violation of law,” Nariman said.

Reacting to the Centre’s submission in court, the BJP alleged the UPA was “paying a price” for the support it received from the DMK during the trust vote.

“The UPA is paying for the support it got from the DMK during the trust vote. This is another blow on the sentiments of millions of Hindus in the country,” said BJP leader V K Malhotra. The party, he said, would launch a countrywide agitation on the issue.

BJP leader Yashwant Sinha said the UPA government was “playing with fire” and “interfering with people’s faith”.

Party spokesperson Ravi Shankar Prasad, too, said it was a ploy “to play around with Hindu sentiments”. “They are now saying Lord Ram destroyed the Sethu when earlier they had said that Lord Ram did not even exist,” he said.