Kanchi seer arrest pre-determined drive against mutt

Monday January 31 2005 00:00 IST
PTI

NEW DELHI: Terming the arrest of Kanchi Sankaracharya Jayendra Saraswathi as a "pre-determined drive" against the mutt, Sangh Parivar ideologue S Gurumurthy said it was clear that it was not for enforcement of law alone.

Gurumurthy, joint convenor of the Swadeshi Jagran Manch (SJM), alleged that it was a pre-determined drive and the entire Tamil Nadu administration was kept in the dark, claiming that the state advocate-general was also "not consulted" before taking the action.

Participating in a talk here on the siege of Kanchi mutt and its implications, the SJM leader said it was "impossible to say" what prompted the Jayalalithaa government to take the step and claimed it was "not for enforcement of law alone."

He noted that the arrest at the "behest" of Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Jayalalithaa, a "Hindu sympathiser", had a "shocking effect" on the Hindu community.

Referring to Jayalalithaa's statement before the state assembly, Gurumurthy said words like "shocking evidence of acharya's involvement" were used, but before the Supreme Court they could not come up with any substantial proof, which tantamount to the fact that they reduced the acharya to a "common criminal".

Terming the arrests of Jayendra Saraswathi and his junior Vijayendra Saraswathi, as "character assassination of two seers and the historic mutt," BJP leader Balbir Punj said the party would take the fight against injustice to its logical conclusion.