The Vishwa Hindu Parishad has said that it will stop the nation in its tracks on September 12 in protest against the Sethu Samudram Canal Project.
Conducting a mahayagna and public meeting in Rameshwaram that was attended by more than 20,000 people, the VHP said it will stop road, rail and air traffic for 4 hours from 8 am to 12 pm.
While the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh volunteers kept vigil inside the venue, the police kept guard outside the venue.
As the leaders started their speeches after bhajans, speaker after vitriolic speaker tried to outdo the rest. One speaker referred to Sonia Gandhi as Surpanaka, (Ravan's sister in the Ramayan). Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M Karunanidhi and Union Shipping Minister T R Baalu were also targeted.
One of the resolution in the meeting was to send one crore postcards to Prime Minsiter Manmohan Singh and Karunanidhi, protesting against the destruction of the Ramar Sethu.
PTI adds:
The VHP will hold road blockades across the country on September 12, seeking a change in the alignment of the canal project.
"The Ramar sethu is a heritage and holy site. We should not allow the government to touch it. We have started the agitation even as the government is preparing to blast the holy bridge," VHP leader Praveen Togadia said.
Whether it was the Pyramids of Egypt or the Great Wall of China, people of the respective countries would not allow their governments to damage them.
Stating that VHP was not against the SSCP, he claimed that the project could be completed by choosing another alignment, which was cheaper too, without damaging the Ramar Sethu.
"This alignment has been chosen deliberately to hurt the Hindu sentiments, and the prime minister and the shipping minister should take complete responsibility for the same," he said.
The Ramar Sethu contained vast amounts of thorium, which could be used to generate four lakh MW of power, he claimed.
"If the bridge is intact, the state (Tamil Nadu) could get more revenue. They could also mine thorium and become richer."
He also referred to a report submitted by an expert committee in Sri Lanka which said that Talaimannar, Trincomallee and Rameswaram would face severe drinking water shortage if the project was taken up.
The issue could be taken up with the international court if the government went ahead with the project and broke the bridge, he said.
