The UPA government on Thursday refused to take a stand on the controversial issue of whether the mythological “Ram Setu” should be declared a national heritage monument.
While placing before the Supreme Court a three-page note on behalf of the Centre, mainly dealing with various aspects of the multi-crore Sethusamum-deram project, additional solicitor-general Harin Raval told a bench of Justices H.L. Dattu and A.R. Dave that he had “no instruction” from the Union government to specify a stand on the issue.
The court on March 29 had given two weeks’ time to the Centre to make its stand clear on some petitions, including one filed by Janata Party president Subramanian Swamy seeking to declare Ram Setu a national heritage monument. As Mr Raval said that in the absence of any instruction from the government, he could not give his views, the bench, after perusing the government’s note, said “you need not to give your views.” The bench apparently was convinced that the Centre was not willing to take a stand on the issue and recorded in its brief order that the Centre “for now” did not want to file an affidavit, hence the case is being adjourned for third week of August.
The top court, however, indicated that if the government still does not take a stand by the next hearing, then it would decide the case on the basis of its last affidavit. But the affidavit did not have any reference about declaring Ram Setu a national monument as it mainly dealt with various aspects of the controversy.
The Congress-led UPA apparently did not want to take a stand as its ally DMK was strongly opposed to declaring Ram Setu a national monument while DMA’s arch rival AIADMK supported the move.