Coimbatore: The Centre should intervene to put an end to the "defamation of Kanchi Seer, Jayendra Saraswati and the Mutt," BJP (Bharatiya Janata Party) president L K Advani today (Dec 18, 2004) said.

"The Centre cannot wash its hands off and should intervene to put an end to the issue," Advani told reporters at the Coimbatore airport.

A delegation of NDA (National Democratic Alliance) MPs had met the Seer, Advani said, adding this was in continuation of party's consistent stand right from the beginning of the case, that the Pontiff of "this highly revered Hindu institution should be treated with dignity" even as the law took its own course.

"Sadly, this has not been the case so far. He has been treated more as a convict by the prosecution than as an accused," the Opposition leader in the Lok Sabha alleged.

Quoting a recent interview in a national weekly by DMK (Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam) leader, M Karunanidhi, that if he was the Chief Minister, these charges might not have come up against the Shankaracharya, Advani said Karunanidhi had also said "they should arrest the real culprits. But they arrested the Shankaracharya."

It seemed from the statements of DMK leader that he also believed that the case against Shankaracharya was "politically motivated," Advani said.

"The onus is clearly on the Tamil Nadu Government to convince the people that this is not the case," he said, adding, "The Centre should intervene and also cannot wash its hands off."

Advani, who was scheduled to arrive in the city around 11.30 AM, could reach only around 5.10 PM, due to delay in the departure of the flight from Delhi.