Govt to file new affidavit in Ram Sethu case: Law Minister

In the wake of protests by the BJP and other Hindu groups over the governments affidavit in the Sethu Samundram case, where the Centre refuted any historical existence of Lord Rama, the Union Law Minister Hans Raj Bharadwaj today said that a new affidavit will be filed in the Supreme Court.

New Delhi, Sept 13 : In the wake of protests by the BJP and other Hindu groups over the government's affidavit in the Sethu Samundram case, where the Centre refuted any historical existence of Lord Rama, the Union Law Minister Hans Raj Bharadwaj today said that a new affidavit will be filed in the Supreme Court.

"We have decided to file a supplementary affidavit in the litigation and I have been in touch with the Additional Solicitor General who drafted this affidavit as well as the secretary this morning. I feel that such a supplementary affidavit is required," Bhardwaj told reporters.

On September 12, the Centre rejected the claim of the existence of the "Rama Sethu" in the area where the Sethusamudram project is under construction, saying there was no historical evidence to establish the existence of Lord Rama or other characters in Ramayana.

"The contents of the Valmiki Ramayana, the Ramcharitmanas by Tulsidas and other mythological texts ... cannot be said to be historical record to incontrovertibly prove the existence of the characters or the occurrence of the events depicted therein," the government's affidavit said.

Meanwhile, BJP leader Lal Krishna Advani, has said that the affidavit showed "contempt for millions of Hindus in India and abroad".

"Yesterday's affidavit is the proof of government's thought process, which we have witnessed in many cases from time to time. We have named it pseudo secularism and this is the most horrendous example of this pseudo secularism," said Advani told reporters.

Hindu groups have called on the government to stop the Sethusamudram Ship Channel Project, saying it will demolish the mythical bridge linking India and Sri Lanka, believed to have been built by Lord Ram.

The Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) is opposing the 560 million dollars project, which they say would destroy the Ram Sethu, a 48- kilometer chain of limestone shoals that once linked Rameswaram in Tamil Nadu to Mannar in Sri Lanka.

The Sethusamudram Project will dredge a channel in a narrow strip of sea between India and Sri Lanka, reducing distances and cutting costs for freight traffic.

According to the Central Government, research has shown that the bridge was a series of sand shoals created by sedimentation.

Dredging for the project began in 2005 and the channel -- 12 metres deep, 300 metres wide and almost 90 km long -- will provide a crucial link between the Palk Bay and the Gulf of Mannar.

When the project is completed, ships sailing between India's western and eastern coasts will no longer have to go around Sri Lanka, and are expected to save up to 36 hours of sailing time.

The project has also sparked protests by other groups including conservationists and local fishermen, who say the dredging will mean dumping sediment in deeper water further out to sea.

This and increased freight traffic will harm marine life and threaten the livelihood of thousands of fishermen in both countries.

ANI