On a day when the BJP geared itself to mount an offensive on the Shankaracharya issue, the Congress also made voices sympathetic to the beleagured Kanchi seer. Congress general secretary Digivijay Singh maintained that nobody was above the law, but he enumerated three reasons for faulting the Tamil Nadu authorities over the manner in which they had dealt with Shankaracharya Jayendra Saraswathi. He sought to know why the Kanchi Kamakoti Peetam chief was picked up by the police in the midst of Diwali festival, and once arrested, why he was not detained at a guest house in conformity with his religious status. He cited the example of former Madhya Pradesh chief minister Uma Bharati, who was kept at a guest house by the Karnataka Government after her arrest in the Hubli case. Singh said the police ought to have recorded Saraswathi’s statement after his arrest. Singh said, ‘‘All this has shown the Tamil Nadu police in bad light.’’ He also ridiculed the BJP for petitioning the President on the issue. ‘‘Does it want the President to intervene to stop the judicial process?,’’ Singh asked. When asked about the description of NCP as a regional party by Maharashtra Chief Minister Vilasrao Deshmukh, Singh said: ‘‘If you see broadly, the NCP, despite the word national in its name, exists mainly in Maharashtra.’’ However, he suggested that Deshmukh should refrain from making such statements in line with coalition ‘‘dharma’’.
