After the legal fraternity, a section of progressive thinkers have now come forward to question the arrest of godman Swami Nithyananda. At a high-voltage press conference here on Monday, members of Nyayakkagi Naavu challenged the authority of Chief Minister D.V. Sadananda Gowda to order the arrest of the godman, saying it was the job of the courts to decide the course of action.
They have also demanded a CBI probe into the case, and wanted the State Government to order an audit of all ashrams and spiritual centres which they said had become “big centres of money transactions”.
Nyayakkagi Naavu executive president Agni Sridhar termed the Chief Minister’s decision to order the arrest of Swami Nithyananda and the search and closure of his Bidadi ashram as “emotional”.
“It is all part of a conspiracy to help another spiritual centre. If not, why is Swami Nithyananda being forced to leave the State instead of being punished?” he asked.
He added that the Chief Minister’s decision was outside the Constitutional provisions and the media was conducting the trial in this case.
Senior journalist and president of Nyayakkagi Naavu Indhudhar Honnapura said that the Government’s decision was biased, as several old cases against other ashrams were still pending, but action was being taken only against Swami Nithyananda.
