MADURAI: CPM MP Su Venkatesan on Tuesday (September 22) criticised Union Culture Minister Gajendra Singh Shekhawat’s allegation that the Keezhadi excavation report was prepared under political pressure and demanded that the Centre government release the evidence supporting the claim or make the report public.

Venkatesan alleged that the BJP was unable to accept the Keezhadi findings because the excavations indicated the existence of a civilisation predating that of the Gangetic plains.

“The evidence unearthed at Keezhadi points to the existence of a prosperous urban culture in South India, particularly Tamil Nadu, before the emergence of urban civilisation in the Gangetic plains. This is the historical significance of Keezhadi. If this conclusion cannot be accepted, it should be scientifically challenged, and not through political allegations,” Venkatesan told reporters on Tuesday.

The Keezhadi study was not based merely on stratigraphy. It incorporated the findings of various scientific studies, including dating, stratigraphy, metallurgy and archaeobotany, he pointed out, the Left MP said.

It has been three years since archaeologist Amarnath Ramakrishna submitted his report to the Archaeological Survey of India, but it has not yet been released, he charged.

The central government had informed the court that it would release the report within nine months, but failed to do so. Later, before the Parliamentary Standing Committee, it stated that the report was being examined. Subsequently, the government said that an expert committee had been constituted, he said.

Amarnath Ramakrishna had also responded to the questions raised by the expert committee, Venkatesan said. “Now it is the responsibility of the Union government to release the report,” he said.

He further stated that if the report was incorrect, the central government should clearly state which parts were wrong and provide scientific evidence to substantiate its objections.