“The marches will be simultaneously conducted in every district of the country from September 27,” VHP leader Ashok Singhal said at a press conference here on Wednesday.  “The marches would be strictly led by saints and we do not wish to give it a political colour.

The agitation is being held under the auspices of the Rameshwaram Ramasethu Raksha Manch,” Mr Singhal added.

The VHP was ready for any solution without disturbing  the Ramar Sethu. The body had no objection to the alignment of the waterway in any other manner.

Some of the other BJP leaders such as Vinay Katiyar have objected to the VHP’s agitation against the Sethusamudram canal project.

Soni to skip tourism fest
New delhi, DHNS: With her meeting with Prime Minister Manmohan Singh not happening because of his indisposition, Culture and Tourism Minister Ambika Soni, caught in the Ramar Sethu affidavit controversy, has decided not to attend the IncredibleIndia@60 festival starting in New York from September 23.
While this was officially announced on Wednesday, sources close to Soni said she was ready to submit her resignation and had even her resignation letter ready in case she was asked to put in her papers.
Earlier, she had said that she would resign if either the Prime Minister or Congress President Sonia Gandhi asked her to.
Her comment had come after Minister of State for Industry Jairam Ramesh’s comment that he would have resigned if he was in her place. While senior party leaders like Digvijay Singh and Salman Khursheed have come out in her defence, CWC member R K Dhawan, considered close to 10, Janpath has sought her resignation.