Setu Project, a historical necessity, says TN CM

Chennai, Jun 1 (UNI) Tamil Nadu Chief Minister and DMK patriarch M Karunanidhi today said implementation of the prestigious Setusamudram Shipping Channel Project (SSCP) has become an ''Historical Necessity.'' ''This is my appeal to all those forces (including the BJP which are trying to stall the project in the name of Lord Ram) on the occasion of my 85th birthday,'' Mr Karunanidhi said in a poem.

He said the project would ensure all round development of the state, especially the southern districts, which would witness a boom in trade and usher in prosperity.

''We have no other option, but to go in for schemes like the SSCP, which alone has now become an historical necessity,'' he added.

In an emotionally penned poem, he appealed to those forces, including the BJP, not to scuttle the project in the name of Lord Ram and pay heed to his quivering voice and ensure its implementation.

Stating that the project was the dream of late Chief Ministers Anna and Kamaraj, Mr Karunanidhi said he was not averse even to name the project as ''Sethu Ram'' and appealed to the forces to ensure its implementation by removing ill wills.

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