NEW DELHI: The Sethusamudram project issue rocked both Houses of Parliament on Thursday with the Bharatiya Janata Party accusing the Government of attempting to destroy evidence of the existence of an ancient `Ram Sethu' (bridge) linking India and Sri Lanka.

Reacting sharply, Shipping Minister T.R. Baalu told the Lok Sabha that the issue was sub judiceand could not be discussed in the House.

Raising the issue during zero hour, BJP deputy leader V.K. Malhotra denied that the matter was pending in court.

House adjourned

His remarks led to a sharp exchange of words between the BJP-Shiv Sena and DMK members from the Treasury Benches, all of whom trooped into the well. When attempts to pacify the two sides failed, Speaker Somnath Chatterjee adjourned the House at 12.10 p.m. for 20 minutes.

The situation was no better when it reassembled. Mr. Chatterjee said that as the matter was contentious, the two sides should submit papers to him and allow him to decide whether the issue could be raised or not. "There seem to be serious reservations and observations about the issue. I am not rejecting it," he said and asked Mr. Malhotra to raise the matter again on Friday.

The Opposition then relented to allow a discussion on the Finance Bill.

Commotion in Upper House

In the Rajya Sabha, Gopal Vyas (BJP) raised the issue just five minutes before the close of question hour and Chairman Bhairon Singh Shekhawat put an end to the commotion, asking for papers to be laid on the table of the House.

Jaitley approved alignment

In his reply, amid the din, Mr. Baalu said there should be no objection from the Opposition because it was the National Democratic Alliance Government which approved the Sethusamudram ship channel alignment.

To Mr. Vyas' supplementary demanding an alternative alignment because the breaching of the `Ram Sethu' could jeopardise a vast quantity of thorium (which could be used as fuel for nuclear plants) in the sand, the Minister said, "It was [Arun] Jaitley who approved the alignment."

He called upon the Opposition not to question Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's secular credentials.

In a written reply to another question, Mr. Baalu said there was no scientific evidence of the existence of an ancient, man-made structure in the proposed channel alignment.

Ram Deo Bhandary and Mangani Lal Mandal (both Rashtriya Janata Dal) asked whether satellites verified the existence of the remains of the `Ram Sethu' between India and Sri Lanka.

The Rs. 2,427-crore Sethusamudram project envisages dredging of a 167-km channel along the Palk Straits, the Palk Bay and Adam's Bridge to connect the Bay of Bengal and the Gulf of Mannar.

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