Lucknow/Ballia (UP), February 27 Opposition parties in Uttar Pradesh welcomed the Allahabad High Court's decision to stay the arrest of Swami Avimukteshwaranand Saraswati.
"This stay by the court is a fitting response to the attempts being made to target Pujya Shankaracharya with malice and hatred. Every attempt to suppress the truth ultimately fails. Satyameva Jayate," said Uttar Pradesh Congress chief Ajay Rai on Friday.
He said it was a victory for justice and truth.
The Allahabad High Court on Friday reserved its order on Avimukteshwaranand's anticipatory bail plea in a case registered against him under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act and stayed his arrest until the verdict was pronounced.
Congress state chief Ajai Rai said that residents of Kashi and his party stand firmly with Avimukteshwaranand.
"We will not tolerate his insult at any cost. The government should remember that its dictatorship will not last long. The public is watching, and a fitting reply will be given when the time comes," he said.
"Kashi has been a sacred land of saint tradition for centuries, where the respect of saints is considered paramount. Any attempt to harm such a sacred tradition is condemnable," the UP Congress chief said.
Reacting to the development in the case, Samajwadi Party (SP) national spokesperson and MP Rajiv Rai told reporters in Ballia that the courts are aware of "the kind of action the government takes and why", implying that the case was politically motivated.
Justice Jitendra Kumar Sinha of the high court passed the order in the case and directed the state government as well as the informant, Ashutosh Pandey alias Ashutosh Brahmchari, to file their replies in the matter.
The court said that the order on the anticipatory bail plea is likely to be delivered in the third week of March and directed the applicant to cooperate with the police in the investigation.
It also clarified that Avimukteshwaranand shall not be arrested in connection with the FIR until the order is pronounced.
As the high court gave an interim relief to the seer, his disciples and supporters broke into celebrations at a Varanasi ashram while the spiritual leader welcomed the development, while maintaining that the charges against him were "fabricated".
