No consensus on Sethusamudram yet

A consensus on the line to be adopted on the Sethusamundram issue continues to elude the Government with the informal Group of Ministers on the issue unable to reach any conclusion at a meeting held on Monday. 8220;Nothing has been decided as yet,8221; said Shipping minister T R Baalu after the meeting at the office of External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee.

Sources said a draft affidavit was circulated among the ministers for their consideration. The ministers discussed the parameters of a possible middle path between the conflicting views of Shipping and Culture ministries.

The group is likely to meet again later this week to take another shot at evolving a consensus, the sources said. Apart from Baalu and Mukherjee, the meeting was attended by Culture Minister Ambika Soni, Law Minister H R Bhardwaj, Science and Technology Minister Kapil Sibal, and Finance Minister P Chidambaram. The Centre had sought a four-week time from the Supreme Court on January 31 to file its affidavit in the case.