Sangh Samachar
Pel delegation of senior saints and VHP leaders met President Dr A.P.J. Abdul Kalam in New Delhi on November 22 and urged him to ensure justice, fair-play and impartiality by transferring the investigation of Shankaracharya'scase to the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI). The President was also urged to ensure that the protocol and facilities normally given to politicians, allegedly charged with heinous conduct, should be extended to Swami Jayendra Saraswati instead of victimising him. Prominent saints who were part of the delegation included Swami Avadeshanand Giri, Swami Achyutanand Teerth, Mahant Gyandas, Mahant Parmanand Saraswati, M.M. Hansdas, Mahant Ramand Puri, Mahant Gangapuri, Mahant Bhagwan Das, Mahant Murli Das, Mahant Mitra Prakash Singh, Mahant Dharma Das, Dr Ramvilas Das Vedanti, Mahant Hari Giri, Mahant Durga Das, Mahant Surendra Nath Avadhoot, Asha Ram Bapu, Vishnu Hari Dalmia, Ashok Singhal, M.N. Krishna Mani and Rajendra Singh Pankaj. The saints urged the President to ensure protection of mutts, temples and places of worships of various religious denominations and prevention of their takeover as guaranteed under Article 26 of the Constitution. The President was also requested to outrightly reject the suggestion of taxation on Hindu temples of worship as contemplated by communist parties. In their memorandum the saints said that the arrest of seer had completely shattered their faith in the rule of law and action of Tamil Nadu Chief Minister, Jayalalithaa was politically motivated. ?The whole manner of arrest and ill-treatment to him (Shankaracharya) clearly show her malafide intention. This shows that there is a failure in the rule of law and failure of democracy in Tamil Nadu,? stated the memorandum, further adding that the seer was not even kept in house-arrest in a guest house or a private or circuit house, as was done in the case of Lalu Prasad Yadav, Sadhvi Uma Bharati and other high profile politicians. ?Court proceedings are being unduly delayed. From what we hear, there is absolutely no material to link him to the offence. We have no trust in Tamil Nadu police, which is acting under the dictates and directions of Chief Minister, Jayalalithaa,? the memorandum added.
