The Centre had withdrawn the controversial affidavits in which it had questioned the existence of Lord Rama and that the Rama Setu was a man-made structure.
The Supreme Court on Monday refused to entertain the plea of Janata Party president Subramaniam Swamy seeking reconstitution of the expert committee to review the Sethusamudram project.
Caught between conflicting demands, Culture Minister Ambika Soni on Friday said government will take a decision that fits 'international norms and the sentiments' of all those involved while working out a solution for the controversial Sethusamudram project.
The Supreme Court on Wednesday favoured exploring the possibility of scientifically and "politically" viable solution to the controversial Sethusamudram project but the Centre questioned the religious grounds being raked up to block the venture.
The Supreme Court on Thursday asked the Centre to explore the possibility of conducting an archaeological survey as directed by the Madras high court to ascertain whether Ram Sethu could be declared an ancient monument.
Janata Party president Subramanian Swamy moved an application in the Supreme Court accusing Union Minister for Shipping and Transport T R Baalu of pushing the controversial Sethusamudram project for his family's private and pecuniary interest.
An interview with archeologist T Satyamurthy on the Sethusamudram project.
The Centre has appointed a six-member committee to consider issue of alternative route to save Ram Sethu.
The Supreme Court on Tuesday refused to adjourn the hearing on the Sethusamudram project on the ground that the government was seeking a trust vote in the Parliament."How are we concerned with the trust motion? This court is only concerned with judicial matters," a bench headed by Chief Justice K G Balakrishnan said while declining the plea of a petitioner, which has asked the court to wait for the outcome of the trust motion and defer the hearing for three weeks.
VHP international president Ashok Singhal told reporters in Chennai on Thursday that the meeting, to be held on June 15 and 16 at Haridwar, would also decide on a 'massive agitation' involving 50,000 people, in support of the Ram Sethu movement.
Serving an ultimatum, movement Joint Organiser Milind Parande told media persons in Coimbatore that the entire country will witness a strong agitation, if the government did not shelve the Sethusamudram Project or change its alignment by November 20.
The Congress party has categorically ruled out resignation by Minister for Culture and Tourism Ambika Soni over the Ram Sethu issue.
Promising to examine the entire issue relating to the Sethusamudram project, the government sought three months' time from the court.
The court, while clubbing her petition for hearing with other cases on the issue, was anguished that cases were being filed against the project, three years after it was cleared in 2005. "Nobody had ever seen the structure. Nobody had ever thought of declaring it as a national monument. The petition coming from Jayalalithaa is surprising," a bench headed by Chief Justice K G Balakrishnan said.
A day after making a strident argument that Ram Sethu was destroyed by Lord Rama himself, the Centre has changed tack in the Supreme Court saying that the viability of going ahead with the Sethusamudram project through an alternative alignment has been taken up at the "highest level".
He said the Sethusamudram project was being opposed by the Sangh Parivar on religious ground, but it was vital for economic development of the region.
Congress president Sonia Gandhi on Saturday launched the party's campaign in poll-bound Gujarat by making a scathing attack on the Bharatiya Janata Party over the Sethusamudram issue saying how could a party which drags Lord Ram's name for political gains be trusted
Communist Party of India- Marxist state general secretary N Varadarajan and Communist Party of India state secretary D Pandian demanded to know why the Centre had sought three months time in the Supreme Court and agreed to consider an alternate alignment. "Why is the government not firm in carrying out the project," they queried. The leaders said other alignments were not acceptable since they will affect marine ecology and the livelihoods of the fishermen.
The Supreme Court on Tuesday posted the hearing on the Centre's plea, to go ahead with the Sethusamudram project, for April 29.The Centre had, on February 29, filed a fresh affidavit in the apex court seeking clearance to go ahead with the Sethusamudram project on the same alignment, saying issues of faith cannot be resolved through scientific evidence.The affidavit had sought the vacation of the apex court's interim orders directing not to damage the Ram Sethu.
Though the Supreme Court had stayed the Tamil Nadu bandh called for Monday by the ruling DMK and its allies on the Ram Sethu Project, buses in most parts of the state were off the roads and shops in main thoroughfares remained closed.
The chief minister said that there was no historical proof of Lord Ram's existence or his construction of the Ram Sethu.
It said the BJP and other communal forces had made a big issue of the affidavit submitted by the Centre.
"Lord Ram is an imaginary character and Ram Sethu is not a man-made bridge. The Centre should not do anything to disturb the Sethusamudram project," he said.
Advani said he also conveyed his protest over the affidavit to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh when they were together at a dinner meeting
Overcoming differences, the Centre on Thursday firmed up an affidavit on Sethusamudram project to be filed in the Supreme Court.
The Supreme Court on Monday threatened to issue arrest warrants against Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M Karunanidhi, Union Transport Minister T R Baalu and four others for failing to respond to a contempt notice on the Sethusamudram bandh row.
A bench headed by Chief Justice K G Balakrishnan accepted the request of Additional Solicitor General R Mohan that the two weeks time granted to the Centre on January 16 to file the affidavits be extended by four weeks and posted the matter for hearing in the first week of March.
After the fiasco over the affidavit on the issue in September last year, the government has been very cautious in drafting the affidavit this time, with even minute details being checked and cross-checked again and again. Discussions on the affidavit are underway involving Shipping Minister T R Baalu, Culture Minister Ambika Soni and Cabinet Secretary K M Chandrasekhar, sources said on Thursday.
Baalu took copies of the Valmiki Ramayan, Tulasi Ramayan, Adhyathma Ramayan, Kamba Ramayan and many other books, as also copies of maps on Ramar Sethu.
The pendant bore the brunt. But for the pendant with a picture of Lord Ram, the stab would have been fatal for the Congress leader, he added.
The Supreme Court on Monday issued contempt notices to Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M Karunanidhi, Union Minister T R Baalu, chief secretary L K Tripathi, among others, for defying the apex court's directive of not to go ahead with the October 1 state bandh call given by the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam for speedy completion of the Sethusamudram project.
Union Shipping Minister T R Balu on Saturday said that the Centre will move the Supreme Court to seek permission for carrying out the project in the present route.
Shipping ministry officials said a new alignment for the canal would require fresh geological studies like soil testing, wave and sedimentation testing and, most importantly, an environmental impact assessment.
In the midst of a political controversy over the Sethusamudram project, the Centre on Wednesday told the Supreme Court that there was no historical evidence to establish the existence of Lord Ram or the other characters in Ramayana.
However, it allowed the dredging activity for the project to continue to the extent that it did not in anyway cause any destruction to the Ram Sethu
The Sethusamudram Shipping Canal Project, aimed at deepening the waters in Palk Straits, is a 'viable' one but will not be useful for the navigation of the big ships, Chief of Naval Staff Admiral Suresh Mehta said in Chennai on Tuesday.
'The Indian government should realise that it is more valuable to preserve it than to demolish it for the Sethusamudram canal project for bringing ships inland.'
The Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh has said it will not allow the Centre to go ahead with the Sethusamudram ship canal project as it posed a "challenge" to Indian culture.
Countering the claim in Lok Sabha, Shipping Minister T R Baalu, joined by DMK members, strongly objected to the issue being raised in the House on the ground that it was sub-judice.
A research scholar says why the Sethusamudram canal project must be stopped and why the Ramar Sethu must be declared a world heritage site.
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