Tuesday, January 11 2005 15:57 Hrs (IST) - World Time -

Chennai: Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Jayalalithaa today (Jan 11, 2005) justified the arrest of junior Seer of Kanchi Mutt Vijayendra Saraswathi and said the action would not break the traditions and affect the daily puja at the Shankara Mutt.

Describing as "incorrect" and "unfounded" fears that the arrest of the junior Seer, yesterday (Jan 10, 2005), would affect the daily pujas at the Mutt, she, in a letter to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, said, "It is not as if both the swamijis have not been away from the Mutt at the same time in the past.

"There have been innumerable occasions when both the pontiffs have been away from the Shankara Mutt at Kancheepuram. While both the Pontiffs have been away from the Mutt, arrangements have been made for the conduct of the daily puja in the past. It would be invidious not to construe this as breaking the tradition and affecting the daily puja at the Mutt, while expressing the apprehension that the arrest of both the pontiffs and their being away be labelled as breaking the tradition of daily puja," she said.

In fact, when Jayendra Saraswathi, the senior pontiff, was arrested on November 11, 2004, both he and the junior were at Mehboob Nagar near Hyderabad, being away on camp several days prior to November 11, she said.

The junior pontiff had returned to Kancheepuram only several days thereafter, she said adding, "It is therefore quite incorrect and unfounded to connect the arrest of the two pontiffs with the tradition of daily puja at the Mutt."

She said that the arrest of Vijayendra Saraswathi was in furtherance of the due processes of law.

On the apprehensions that the arrest would injure the sentiments of the people, Jayalalithaa said that even at the time of the arrest of Jayendra Saraswathi there were some apprehension, but this had been totally belied by the subsequent events.

"The public had greatly appreciated the principled stand of Tamil Nadu Government that all were equal before the law," Jayalalithaa said.

She said that it could not be the Prime Minister's argument that while handling a conspiracy involving hired killers, the Tamil Nadu Police should make a distinction between those instigated, conspired and financed the murder inside a temple and those who carried it out, extending special treatment to the pontiffs as against the other accused.

"It is relevant to point out that all of them face similar charges," she said.

"An onerous duty is cast on the Tamil Nadu Government to proceed the case in an impartial manner not swayed by sentiments or feelings. Upholding the majesty of law and the principle of equality of all before the law, however high or mighty the persons may be, is the bounden duty of the Tamil Nadu Government and it ought to be their common endeavour to ensure that the Tamil Nadu Police maintains this tradition," she said.

Jayalalithaa's letter was in response to the Prime Minister's letter, drawing her attention to the apprehension that if the Junior Pontiff was also arrested, it might lead to the disruption of the daily puja at the Kanchi Mutt.

Vijayendra Saraswathi was arrested in the Sankararaman murder case on the charges of murder and criminal conspiracy and remanded to judicial custody for 15 days.