The Hindu : National : Swamy criticises treatment meted out to Sri Jayendra Saraswathi

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Sunday, Nov 21, 2004

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Swamy criticises treatment meted out to Sri Jayendra Saraswathi

By Our Special Correspondent

CHENNAI, NOV. 20. The Janata Party president, Subramanian Swamy, has criticised the Tamil Nadu Government for the way the Kanchi Sankaracharya, Sri Jayendra Saraswathi, has been arrested and the treatment meted out to him.

While he did not go into the merits of the case, Dr. Swamy was against detaining the Acharya in jail like an ordinary criminal. If the Government felt that there was a prima facie case, it could have kept him in a secluded place or confined him in the mutt and interrogated him, Dr.Swamy told mediapersons here today.

The Acharya was not a habitual offender to be detained in police custody and due respect should have been given to him not as an individual but as the head of a historical mutt. He strongly objected to the description of the Acharya as a "criminal." Again, the Government's argument that the Acharya planned to flee to Nepal was not sustainable as it was impossible to do so without the permission of the Director-General of Civil Aviation.

Sees no motive

Giving a clean chit to Ms. Jayalalithaa, Dr. Swamy said she might have been "misled" by police. He did not see any political motive behind the Government's action.

Dr. Swamy welcomed the Prime Minister, Manmohan Singh's stand that the country would not compromise on the Kashmir issue or on the existing international borders. He added that princely states merged irrevocably with India or Pakistan under the Indian Independence Act (1947). There was no provision in the Act for a plebiscite or negotiated settlement to question such a merger.

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