Ram was a bad husband: Jethmalani

NEW DELHI: In an embarrassment to BJP which has spearheaded the Ram Temple movement and Hindutva agenda, the party's Rajya Sabha member Ram Jethmalani today termed Ram, the protagonist of Ramayana, as a "bad husband".

Speaking at a function to launch a book on a man-woman relationship, Jethmalani said "Ram was a bad husband. I don't like him at all. Just because some fisherman said something, he sent that poor woman (Sita) to exile."

He went on to take a jibe at Lakshman by saying he was "even worse". He said, "When Sita was abducted, Ram asked him to go and find her as she was abducted during his watch. Lakshman simply excused himself saying she was his sister-in-law and he never looked at her face, so he wouldn't be able to identify her", Jethmalani said.

Earlier, Jethmalani spoke against use of religion and said "today we are at the crossroads of the very fate of this planet. Religion has totally changed. Religion has produced terror. Religion has produced those who issue fatwas of murder..."