After ASI, Union Minister Shekhawat casts doubt on Keezhadi excavations' antiquity

Close on the heels of the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) raising doubts about dating the antiquity of the excavations at the ancient site of Keezhadi near Madurai in Tamil Nadu, BJP leader and Union Minister for Culture Gajendra Singh Shekhawat on Tuesday maintained that further scientific validation was required for the report on the Keezhadi findings to be accepted by the government.

- STATESMAN NEWS SERVICE

"As further scientific validation is required to ascertain the period of the artefacts found at the site there is a delay in accepting the report," was his response to a question at a media interaction at the BJP headquarters in Chennai. He was here to participate in the celebration of the 11-year rule of Narendra Modi as Prime Minister. "Due recognition will be accorded to the Keezhadi findings for which more scientific tests are required to ascertain the timeline over which doubts have been raised by experts," the minister said, making it clear that the Union government will take time and the report would have to wait till then.