By IANS
New Delhi : In a desperate attempt to contain the intensifying row over the Ram Sethu issue, the Congress party Thursday asked its leaders to avoid uncalled for comments and treat the matter as closed.
In a statement issued by Janardhan Dwivedi, chairman of the media department, the party said: “The Congress party believes the maintenance of discipline of its members in the party and the government is of utmost importance.
“The Congress is a vast, democratic movement with ample intra-party scope for conveying a wide spectrum of opinions and views which are listened to, absorbed and where necessary acted upon.”
“However, airing such views in public generates unnecessary and avoidable confusion,” the statement said, referring to some party leaders’ public statements asking for Culture Minister Ambika Soni’s resignation.
Minister of State for Commerce Jairam Ramesh and senior party leader R.K. Dhawan had suggested that Soni should step down over an affidavit by the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) – since withdrawn – that said there was no historical or scientific proof that Hindu god Ram existed. Ramesh later regretted his remarks.
The ruling party made it clear that it wanted to close the chapter.
“In the specific context of the Ram Sethu issue, in view of the prompt withdrawal of the affidavit reflecting the party’s and the government’s alacrity and sensitivity on matters of personal belief and faith, the matter should be treated as closed and uncalled for comments be avoided,” it said.
Soni, who has come under fire over the ASI affidavit, has expressed her willingness to quit if the party leadership asks her to. She met Prime Minister Manmohan Singh Thursday to explain her position.
The ASI functions under Soni’s ministry of culture. The affidavit was filed to justify the government plan to build a canal in the Palk Straight between India and Sri Lanka.
Responding to Janata Party chief Subramanian Swamy’s petition seeking national monument heritage status for the Ram Sethu or Adam’s Bridge, a chain of limestone shoals between Rameswaram in Tamil Nadu and Mannar in Sri Lanka, ASI told the Supreme Court there was no scientific basis or rationale behind the demand.
Since the ASI affidavit episode erupted, the main opposition Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has ranted against the $24 billion sea canal project.
The BJP and its allied organisations say the project would damage Ram Sethu, believed to have been during the Ramayana era.