The Hindu : National : "Move Kanchi Acharya to guest house"

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Thursday, Dec 23, 2004

National

National

"Move Kanchi Acharya to guest house"

By Our Special Correspondent

NEW DELHI, DEC. 22. The former Prime Minister, Atal Bihari Vajpayee, today led a delegation of National Democratic Alliance leaders to meet the Prime Minister, Manmohan Singh, to demand that the Kanchi Sankaracharya, Sri Jayendra Saraswathi, now lodged in the Vellore Central Jail as an accused in the Sankararaman murder case, be moved to "some decent guest house" and that the head of the police investigation team be changed.

Some of the delegation members told reporters later that during the 20-minute meeting, Dr. Singh assured them that he would do all he could within the parameters of the Constitution and the law. He also told them that he had written to the Tamil Nadu Chief Minister, Jayalalithaa, about the case and she had assured him that the Government was treating the Acharya with all the dignity and respect due to his status as a religious leader.

Mr. Vajpayee reportedly said there was a "big difference" between the assurances given by Ms. Jayalalithaa to the Prime Minister and the way the investigation was being conducted.

`Raids must cease'

A memorandum submitted to Dr. Singh demanded that the "outrageous raids" against the Kanchi Sankara Mutt must end and if the police needed to interrogate any inmate it must issue written summons to them. An NDA team, which earlier visited the Mutt and the Vellore jail to meet the Kanchi Acharya, had talked of an "atmosphere of terror" created by the police at the Mutt.

Besides the Prime Minister, those present included the Leader of the House, Pranab Mukherjee, the Home Minister, Shivraj Patil, and some officials.

When the delegation pointed out that there were many instances when important leaders who were jailed were kept in guest houses, the Government side is reported to have responded saying that Acharya's lawyers could make that demand in the court.

Balbir Punj, one of the MPs who visited the Kanchi Mutt and who met the Prime Minister today, was asked by reporters what the Centre could do in such a situation. He said: "The Centre can use its moral authority and it has many options."

Printer friendly page
Send this article to Friends by E-Mail

National