By IANS
Agartala : The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) Thursday threatened to launch a massive countrywide agitation to prevent New Delhi from going ahead with the Sethusamudram project off the Tamil Nadu coast.
“We shall launch a nationwide agitation to force the central government to withdraw the affidavit submitted before the Supreme Court and seek apology to the people for hurting the sentiments of the people,” BJP president Rajnath Singh told journalists here.
The Sethusamudram Ship Canal project aims at creating a channel in the shallow ocean, by dredging parts of Ram Setu, to enable vessels to save on time taken to circumnavigate the Sri Lankan island while going from west to east.
According to the epic Ramayana, Ram Setu is a bridge constructed by Lord Ram connecting the Indian peninsula with mainland Sri Lanka.
“The central government wants to go ahead with the project aimed at fuelling inter-religion conflict to damage social harmony in the country as part of its appeasement policy and for narrow vote bank politics,” Singh said.
The central government submitted an affidavit in the Supreme Court earlier this week explaining the mythological position, the government plan, and future benefit of the Sethusamudram project off the Tamil Nadu coast.
While the BJP and the Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) oppose the project on grounds that it would destroy the Ram Sethu or Lord Rama’s legendary path of rocks to ancient Lanka, those in favour of the project say that the sand and bars at the bottom of the Palk strait are a natural phenomenon and not a man-made structure.
The Supreme Court has stopped the central government from dredging in the Ram Sethu region for the project until the next date of hearing Friday.
“The government should not hurt any sect or religion and by trying to go ahead with the project. The Congress-led United Progressive Alliance (UPA) is disowning Gandhiji’s dream to establish a ‘Ram Rajya,” the BJP president said.
He said the BJP would chalk out its future strategy and agitation plans on the Sethusamudram project and Indo-US nuclear deal in the party’s three-day national executive committee meeting scheduled Sep 21 in Bhopal.
The BJP president said his party was ready to face a mid-term election if the political situation warrants.
“The BJP is ready for any snap poll and in the next general election the party would expose the conspiracy of the Congress and Communist Party of India-Marxist on the Indo-US nuclear deal and other vital issues,” Singh said.
The BJP president also reiterated the party’s demand for a Joint Parliamentary Committee (JPC) to review the Indo-US nuclear deal.
Singh lashed out at the ruling left front government in Tripura for “failing on all fronts”.