Author: Rajeev R Roy
Publication: The Pioneer
Date: November 21, 2004
Asaram Bapu joined the BJP leaders
in a fast to protest the 'uncivilised' treatment meted out to the Shankaracharya
of Kanchi mutt. "Those responsible for torture of holymen are cursed. Sant
Sataye Teeno Jaaye, Bal, Budhi aur Vansh," Bapu said on Sunday in his discourse
as his devotees heard him spellbound.
Bapu, who first joined the fast
on Saturday alongwith former Depty Prime Minister and BJP chief LK Advani,
promised the gathering to come again on Monday. Former Prime Minister Atal
Bihari Vajpayee and spiritual guru Sudhanshuji Maharaj will join Bapu in
the protest fast. The Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) has given a Bharat Bandh
call on Monday.
"What has been done to Sankaracharya
is debilitating for crores of people across the globe. He has been subjected
to a humiliating treatment. It is the height of insensibility. There is
nothing to worry. Keep trying and success will be ours," Bapu added.
The outraged Delhi'tes, who thronged
Parliament Street in thousands, carried placards which read among other
things Sant Ka Apmaan Nahi, Sahega Hindusthan, Seer vs Liar, Innocent in
Jail, Culprit Out, Why So Indifferent, Mr PM and Mrs Gandhi. "We will march
to Chennai and force Ms Jayalalitha to spend her days under house arrest
if Sankaracharya is not released," Bhuwan Sharma, resident of Vinod Nagar,
said.
The crowd that kept swelling till
Bapu announced the conclusion of the day's fast with the hope justice will
prevail, resorted to thunderous sloganeering to give vent to their ire
when Prof Murli Manohar Joshi recounted his converstation with Shankaracharya
in the jail. "It is sad to say that Shankaracharya is not getting the food
as per his needs," Prof Joshi said.
"He is not scared of the court's
verdict. He says it will be acceptable to him. What is shocking is that
he is not being allowed to perform poojas. He is not being given the flowers.
Even during the rule of Mughals and Britishers, the sants were not treated
in this way. It is an unprecedented event in the independent India," he
added.
Taking potshot at the Congress led
government at the centre, Prof Joshi said: "The arrest of Shankaracharya
is not only Tamil Nadu issue. He was arrested in Mehboobnagar in Andhra
Pradesh, where the Congress is in power. The governments in New Delhi and
Chennai are equally responsible for what has been done to Shankaracharya."
A host of senior BJP leaders including
Swami Shri Madhwashramji Maharaj Jyotishpithadheswar of Badri Ashram, Himalaya,
and MS Khan, secretary, Urdu Academy, UP government, turned up to express
their grief over the arrest of the sant. "Let us get together to carry
on our struggle for justice. The BJP has taken a good initiative by organising
the fast protest," Swami Shri Madhwashramji Maharaj said.
"Shankaracharya is being treated
as if he is a criminal. There is no evidence against him. What is under
attack is the people's faith, feeling and belief Shankaracharya stands
for. Which law permits what is being meted out to Kanchi Mutt Shakaracharya,"
former deputy speaker Rajaya Sabha and senior BJP leader Najma Heptullah
said.
Former Union Minister Sushma Swaraj
echoed a similar view. "Efforts are on to fabricate the evidence. It is
also not clicking. Truth will come out one day only to expose those who
conspired to implicate Shankaracharya in a false case. The whole episode
has agonised the people deeply. It further deepened when Madras High Court
denied him the bail," Ms Swaraj said.
Earlier talking to the reporters,
former Union Minister and BJP general secretary Arun Jaitely said the agitation
would be intensified across the country, as "Shankaracharya's arrest is
politically motivated. There is no evidence against him. The whole world
is stunned."
The fight for seer, however, did
not confine to Parliament Street only. A large number of Hindu religious
leaders staged a march through the Walled City to protest the arrest of
Shankaracharya and sought his early release. They were accompanied by a
number of VHP and RSS volunteers and passed through the Walled City in
a procession to reach Gaurishankar temple in Chandani Chowk in a procession.
Earlier addressing the sants at
Ramlila Grounds, VHP leader Ashok Singhal said the Hindus will oppose "tooth
and nail" any attempt by TN government to take control of Kanchi Mutt.
He accused Ms Jayalalitha of "conspiracy and vendetta" to execute the seer's
arrest in a murder case.
