Thursday, January 13 2005 16:22 Hrs (IST) - World Time -

Sagar Island (WB): Shankaracharya of Puri, Swami Nischalananda Saraswati today (Jan 13, 2005) condemned the role of the Centre and Tamil Nadu Government in the arrest of Kanchi Seer Jayendra Saraswati in connection with the murder of a mutt official.

Jayendra Saraswati was arrested without any valid proof, he alleged.

''The attitude of Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Jayalalithaa towards Swami Jayendra Saraswati will lead the country to destruction. If every one is equal before the law how did the Government behave differently in the case of arrests of VVIPs like Laloo Prasad and Uma Bharati,'' he told a press conference in Sagar Island.

Swami Nischalananda Saraswati is here on the occasion of the four-day annual Makar Sankranti mela at the confluence of river Ganga and the Bay of Bengal.

Asked about the Ayodhya issue, he claimed that the former Prime Minister P V Narasimha Rao and Congress President Sonia Gandhi had sent feelers to him to mediate in the issue. ''But I don't like to politicise the issue. I am ready to mediate, when there is no political interest in it.''

He asked the people, particularly Sadhus to be united to fight against political parties, which are 'trying to destroy the values and the society in our country.'

Commenting on the growing influence of foreign MNCs in the country, he said if it was not checked immediately the country might loose its independence once again.

Official sources said about 30,000 pilgrims, mostly from Bihar, Jharkhand, Madhya Pradesh, Nepal and West Bengal had arrived here to take a holy dip for Makar Sankranti on January 14. The number of pilgrims from southern India was comparatively less this year due to the tsunami.