Ram Setu not man-made, but emotive issue

Fri, Feb 29 01:20 AM

The government firmed up its affidavit on the controversial Sethusamudram project at a meeting chaired by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Thursday and would ask the Supreme Court to vacate its last year's stay on dredging. The affidavit - that aims at keeping an important ally, DMK, happy without giving the BJP any reason to put the government on the mat - was cleared at a meeting of the Cabinet Committee on Political Affairs on Thursday.

The government is understood to have decided to tell the apex court that there was no scientific evidence to establish that Ram Setu was a man-made structure. But at the same time, the Centre would also bring on record the emotive and religious significance that it holds.

The fresh, 90-page affidavit will be filed in response to a petition in the SC opposing the project since it would damage Ram Setu, a cluster of sand formations that Hindus believe was the bridge built by Lord Ram. The government's affidavit last year had landed it in trouble as it questioned the existence of Lord Ram and had to be hurriedly withdrawn to keep the political cost to the minimum.

The Culture Ministry - that had burnt its fingers with the previous affidavit - wanted to play cautious and point out that no study has been conducted to determine whether the "Ram Setu" between India and Sri Lanka was man-made or natural. The Shipping Ministry, however, wanted to clearly state that the bridge had been formed naturally.

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