The Hindu : Tamil Nadu News : Withdraw or transfer cases: BJP

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Saturday, Jan 22, 2005

Tamil Nadu

Tamil Nadu

Withdraw or transfer cases: BJP

By Our Special Correspondent

The BJP MP, S. Thirunavukkarasar, along with party members, staging a protest in front of the Chennai Collectorate on Friday demanding withdrawal of cases against the Kanchi Acharyas. — Photo: S.R. Raghunathan

CHENNAI, JAN. 21. The Bharatiya Janata Party today urged the Centre to direct the State Government to withdraw the cases against the Kanchi Sankaracharyas.

"If the Union Government thinks that it cannot give such a direction, it should arrange for the transfer of the cases from Tamil Nadu," S. Thirunavukkarasar, member of Parliament and former Union Minister, said leading a BJP demonstration in front of the Collectorate here.

He also demanded that the junior Sankaracharya, Sri Vijayendra Saraswathi, be immediately released.

Explaining that the Constitution had provisions empowering the Centre to give directions to States, Mr. Thirunavukkarasar recalled that "in 2001, when the then Union Ministers, Murasoli Maran and T.R. Baalu, were arrested by the police immediately after the arrest of the former Chief Minister, M. Karunanidhi, our Government (the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance Government) gave directions under Articles 256 and 257 for their release."

Mr. Thirunavukkarasar, along with other State BJP leaders including V. Vaidyalingam, vice-president; G. Kumaravelu, general secretary, and K.N. Lakshmanan, legislature party chief, was taken into custody this morning. The arrested were released in the afternoon.

In other parts of the State also, the party staged demonstrations. L. Ganesan, national secretary, led the agitation at Theni.

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