Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Y S Rajasekhara Reddy on Saturday sought to distance himself from the arrest of Kanchi Shankaracharya Jayendra Saraswathi, saying his government had "nothing to do" with the case.
"There is a case in Tamil Nadu [against the Shankaracharya] and the police from that state had come and arrested him. My government has nothing to do with this," Reddy told reporters in Hyderabad.
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Meanwhile, tension prevailed in Hyderabad during a Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh rally when some protestors made an attempt to march towards the state secretariat in violation of prohibitory orders.
The police used mild force to disperse the protestors, who later resorted to stone-pelting, damaging a bus near Tank Bund area.
A delegation of five 'peethadhipatis' (heads of religious mutts) later met the chief minister at the secretariat and lodged their protest against the Shankaracharya's arrest.
Activists of Vishwa Hindu Parishad and Bajrang Dal, wearing black badges, held up traffic in Cuddapah district and raised slogans against Tamil Nadu and AP governments.
Protestors in Vijayawada burnt the effigy of Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam president M Karunanidhi, while VHP activists organised 'silent demonstration' in Vizianagaram town.