The contentious Sethu Samundaram project is likely to be put on hold as after facing uproar from the Sangh Parivar over the issue, the United Progressive Alliance (UPA) Government has been looking for a face saver that would allow it to exit the project.
The government's political reluctance has now been bolstered by a military caveat after the Navy chief and the Coast Guard Director General said that the project is a security threat.
The military establishment has warned that dredging a channel out of Adam's Bridge or Ram Setu will create a serious security problem for India.
"By virtue of the close boundary lines between Sri Lanka and us, obviously the implications are there for the security," Vice-Admiral RF Contractor, DG Coast Guard, warned.
The Coast Guard DG's warning comes close on the heels of reservations expressed by Navy Chief Admiral Sureesh Mehta.
And with the armed forces going public with their view, it's clear that the UPA Government cleared the contentious Rs 2,500 crore project without a proper security audit.
"Expert bodies like the Coast Guard Chiefs are raising matters of serious security concern, then it is a matter that ought to be factored into by the Government of India," BJP spokesperson Ravi Shanker Prasad said.
The Congress would rather be out of the controversy though the development immensely suits their present political stand - delay any stand and it seems to be finding a way out of an embarrassing situation.
"The chief of the Naval Staff may have said or the coast guard may said but these are all that will be inputs before the government before they take a decision or before they go ahead," Congress spokesperson Jayanthi Natarajan said.
The bitter political spat over the Sethu Samundaram project has been focused around the existence of Lord Ram.
With India's security establishment now going public with its grave reservations about this proposed channel, it's perhaps a signal that the project should be debated rationally on its merits.
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