A heated exchange took place between the opposition and the ruling Congress members over the colour of the Ram Lalla idol installed in the new temple in Ayodhya.

The war of words took place during a debate in the House on the Uniform Civil Code (UCC) bill.

Congress MLA from Jaspur, Adesh Singh Chauhan, accused the BJP of rendering the Ram Lalla idol in Ayodhya "black" contrary to the Hindu scriptures which describe the deity as "sanwala" (dusky).

"According to the Hindu scriptures, Ram was 'sanwala' (dusky), but you people made the Ram Lalla idol installed in the temple in Ayodhya black," Chauhan said.

Reacting sharply to the allegation, Parliamentary Affairs Minister Premchand Aggarwal rose from his seat and asked the Congress member to speak only on the UCC bill.

"You must stop making insulting remarks against Lord Ram," he said.

The BJP leader also described the Congress as a party which had denied the very existence of Ram.

The argument, however, lasted just a few minutes as Speaker Ritu Khanduri intervened and asked the minister to resume his seat and the Congress MLA to not deviate from the UCC, which was the subject of discussion.

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