TN Minister calls Jagath Guru law violator, Isha Foundation rebukes

Chennai: The war of words that have been going on for quite a time on Twitter between Tamil Nadu's newly elected Finance Minister P Thiaga Rajan and Isha Foundation has reached a new height when the Minister called Jaggi Vasudev a 'violator of law'.

The spat began after P Thiaga Rajan called Jaggi Vasudev a charlatan and a publicity hound in an interview with The Hindu.

In the interview, Rajan questioned Jaggi Vasudev's intention of demanding money from devotees, which according to him, should not be expected from a sage who is focused on God. He also cited the Foundation selling Sivarathiri tickets for Rs 5,00,000, 50,000 and 5,000. Referring to this, Rajan also called Vasudev a commercial operator in godly garb to get financial help.

On Monday, Thiaga Rajan reiterated his stance that Jaggi Vasudev is a 'violator of law' and will 'pay sooner or later. He was responding to a tweet by Malini Parthasarathy, the Chairperson of The Hindu Publishing group. Malini had tweeted the open letter by Isha volunteers.

The open letter issued by Isha Volunteers on Sunday had stated that they were appalled that a man of his [Jaggi Vasudev] stature has been subject to the Minister's unparliamentary and uncalled for a personal attack in a recent media interview [to The Hindu], calling him a 'publicity hound' and a 'commercial operator'. It is deeply unfortunate that a person holding high public office should resort to the name-calling of a highly respected public figure. This unseemly attack trivialises the efforts and dedication of millions of Isha volunteers worldwide who are working tirelessly in service of humanity."

The letter further gave instances of several initiatives taken up by the Isha Foundation and claimed that the foundation has been working closely with elected governments in the spirit of cooperation and support through the years.