IndiaPost.com - No U-turn, says Cong; BJP warns against Setu demolition option

NEW DELHI: As the government told the Supreme Court that it was considering an alternative alignment to execute Setusamudram project and set up a committee for this, Congress rejected suggestions of a U-turn in the official stand while opposition BJP warned against exploring the option of breaking the Ram Setu.

"Our main demand is that the government should not break the Ram Setu but look at the other five alignments (for building the canal) and accept one of them," BJP spokesperson Prakash Javadekar told reporters here.

"We demand that the government should announce that no dredging work will take place till the report comes out," he added. Warning the government not to break the Setu, Javadekar said, "We want to save the Ram Setu."

"There is a need for the government to state categorically that they will not break the Ram Setu. Their lawyer's statement does not make this point clear," he said, adding "this aspect should be included in the terms of reference of the committee" headed by environmentalist R K Pachauri.

The BJP MP termed the formation of the committee, "an attempt to rectify the initial mistake" of the government. The government's submission to the apex court is seen as a move to end the controversy over the present alignment proposed by the government for dredging a canal through the Palk Straits which has met with severe opposition from Hindu outfits and BJP which contend it would lead to destruction of Ram Setu.

However, Congress rejected suggestions that there was an about turn in the government's policy on the project. "We have not taken any about turn. It is an ongoing argument in the court. Various facets of the argument are currently going on in the court," Congress spokesman Abhishek Singhvi told reporters.

He said if there was a possibility of an alternative alignment definitely it would be considered by the UPA government. Union Minister T R Baalu, whose DMK is keen on early execution of the project, said the Pachauri committee should take stock of all the data collected and can also go visit the area if it wants.