VHP General Secretary Praveen Togadia said telephonically from Nagpur that the Shankaracharya had been implicated in false cases, and his arrest has shocked Hindus all over the world turning the festival of lights into a 'black Diwali' for them.
Togadia alleged it was a great conspiracy by the governments of Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh and the Centre and that the police swooped on the seer when he was engaged in 'trikal' puja on Diwali eve, adding that ''no government could dare to arrest a Muslim religious leader like that.''
He asserted that Hindus would not sit silent over the action against the Shankaracharya as it was an insult to the symbols of their religion and culture.
RSS condemns pontiff's arrest; asks TN govt to secure release
Meanwhile, condemning the arrest of Kanchi Shankaracharya in a murder case, RSS asked the Tamil Nadu government to secure his immediate release from the Vellore jail.
RSS spokesman Ram Madhav said telephonically from Hyderababd that there was no requirement to arrest the Shankaracharya as he would have fully cooperated with the investigating agencies.
He added that being a senior monk of a highly respected Hindu Mutt which commanded the obeisance of millions of devotees, the seer deserved a better treatment.
Madhav demanded that the Tamil Nadu government take appropriate action to secure the pontiff's release from the prison where he has been sent on 14-day judicial custody.
The RSS leader also demanded that the state government ensure that the functioning of the Mutt including all daily rituals is "not disturbed by anti-social and anti-Hindu elements".
BJP strongly condemns Shankaracharya's arrest
The BJP expressed surprise and shock at the arrest of Kanchi's Shankaracharya in a two-month old murder case at Mahoobnagar in Andhra Pradesh last night.
Senior party leader Arun Jaitley said that they wondered if the arrest was at all required based on doubtful evidences.
He added that there was an undue haste in his arrest and sending him to jail in a midnight operation.
Puri Shankaracharya expresses concern over seer's arrest
Expressing concern over the arrest of Kanchi's seer, the Shankaracharya of Puri, Nischalananda Saraswati described it as a "sad news for the country."
He said that arresting the pontiff on the charge of murder is a "blow to the existence and ideology of Hindus."
He also asserted that if there was any case, the government could have inquired about it in a respectful and decent manner adding that it was a conspiracy to tarnish the Kanchi Shankaracharya's image.
