The Hindu : Tamil Nadu News : BJP to stage Statewide protest on December 13

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Wednesday, Dec 08, 2004

Tamil Nadu

Tamil Nadu

BJP to stage Statewide protest on December 13

By Our Special Correspondent

CHENNAI, DEC. 7. The Bharatiya Janata Party will organise a "protest day" throughout Tamil Nadu on December 13 to "expose the role of pseudo-secularists" in the arrest of the Kanchi Sankaracharya, Sri Jayendra Saraswathi, the national secretary and prabhari (in-charge) for the State, Bandaru Dattattreya, said today.

Demonstrations would be held at the district headquarters. Propaganda material explaining the "role of pseudo-secularists" would also be distributed, Mr. Dattattreya told mediapersons here.

Alleging that the Centre and the Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh Governments were "hand in glove" in arresting the Acharya, he said the action was the outcome of a "conspiracy hatched" by them.

Criticising the Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister, Y.S. Rajasekhara Reddy, for the arrest, Mr. Dattattreya said that when the Gujarat police recently wanted to arrest a person in Hyderabad in connection with the murder of the Gujarat Minister, Hiren Pandya, the Andhra Pradesh administration took the stand that "the arrest cannot be effected during Ramzan."

Mr. Dattatreya claimed that though the Gujarat police eventually nabbed the person, the Andhra Pradesh administration did not cooperate.

Competition

In Tamil Nadu, there was a "competition" between constituents of the United Progressive Alliance, particularly the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam, and the All-India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam in getting the votes of the minorities, by using the Sankaracharya arrest issue.

Referring to news reports, immediately after the arrest, that the Union Home Minister, Shivraj Patil, sought a report from the State Government, Mr. Dattattreya asked why he had not furnished any information to Parliament or made public the contents of the report.

Reiterating the BJP's demand for transfer of the case to another State, he said this had to be done in view of the "special significance" of the matter.

Mr. Dattattreya, who is on his maiden first visit to Tamil Nadu after assuming charge, earlier attended a meeting of the office-bearers of the State unit. He said membership enrolment would be undertaken next year.

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