Claiming that Valmiki had described Ram as a drunkard in Ramayana, Tamil Nadu Chief Minister and DMK President M Karunanidhi on Thursday challenged BJP leader LK Advani to a debate on Ram and Ramayana.
Reiterating that Ram was just a character in Ramayana and his existence cannot be accepted, Karunanidhi said whatever he had said about Ram was only from the Valmiki’s Ramayana. “I have only repeated what Valmiki had said about Ram in Ramayana. The author of Ramayana has described him as a kudikaran (drunkard). But I have not made any such comment. Let Advani study Valmiki’s Ramayana fully and come to debate about it with me,” Karunanidhi told reporters, rejecting Advani’s demand that he withdraw his comments on Ram.
The DMK chief stuck to his stand that Ram was a lie. On Union Law Minister H R Bhardwaj's comments that the existence of Ram was as true as the Himalayas and Ganga, Karunanidhi said “my remarks were as true as his”.
However, a transcript of his media interaction faxed to newspaper offices later in the afternoon, dropped the word “kudikaran” . According to the fax version, Karunanidhi had stated that Ram used to drink a kind of liquor called somapanam.
Pointing out that the Constitution did not bar anyone from speaking on Ram, he said: “I have not hurt anyone by my remarks. Expressing the views which are already in writing cannot be termed as wounding the sentiments of somebody else. The DMK has never done anything which would hurt the sentiments of either the Hindus or anybody else and the party would not do so in the future.”
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