Union Law Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad on Wednesday declared that the recent claims by a science channel in the US that the 'Ram Setu' was a man-made structure 'reaffirmed' the party's stand on the issue.
The Ram Setu, also known as Adam's Bridge, lies on the southern tip of India and is part of Hindu mythology. The Ramayana refers to it being built by Ram's ape army to reach Sri Lanka to rescue Sita. The channel, in a promo for a show, quotes an archaeologist as saying that the rocks on top of the sand at the Ram Setu predate the sand, which would mean that the structure was not naturally formed.
Prasad criticised the UPA government for questioning the belief in the origins of the Ram Setu in an affidavit to the Supreme Court in 2007. While welcoming the US channel's claims, Prasad cautioned against 'meddling or tampering' with the sanctity of the Ram Setu.
Reacting to the criticism, Congress leader Rajiv Shukla affirmed that his party also believed in the existence of the Ram Setu.
