On Monday, Thiaga Rajan reiterated his stance that Jaggi Vasudev is a ‘violator of law’ and will ‘pay sooner or later’.
Coimbatore: Tamilnadu’s Finance Minister Palanivel Thiyaga Rajan In an interview with The Hindu, had called Jaggi Vasudev a ‘commercial operator’ and a ‘publicity hound’. The finance minister, an ardent practising Hindu has been very vocal about his opinions about Isha Foundation’s Jaggi Vasudev and his recent foray into temple management.
The war of words between Tamil Nadu’s newly elected Finance Minister P Thiagarajan and Isha Foundation escalated on Monday. The heated word exchanges between the two have been going on for the past few days which began with Thiagarajan calling Jaggi Vasudev, the Founder of Isha Foundation, a ‘commercial operator’ and a ‘publicity hound’.
“In the case of Jaggi, he is a publicity hound who is trying to find another angle to make more money. Those making the demand have contended that temples should be run by “bhaktas” (devotees). Will a godman, who is focused on god, be selling Sivarathiri tickets for Rs 5,00,000, Rs 50,000 and Rs 5,000? Is that a sign of a man of god? Is that the identifying mark of a spiritual man? He is a commercial operator pretending to use god and religion to get help,” he questioned.
He was answering a question posed to him on the demand made by several parties, including Jaggi Vasudev’s Isha Foundation, to free Tamil Nadu’s temples and hand over their control to temple managements and devotees. Currently, many big Hindu temples in the state are overseen by the state government under the auspices of the Hindu Religious and Charitable Endowments Department.
In a letter issued by Isha Foundation it said, "We are appalled that Jaggi Vasudev, a man of his stature has been subjected to the Minister’s unparliamentary and uncalled for 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 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 said.
The letter further gave instances of several initiatives taken up by the Isha Foundation and claimed that the foundation has been working closely with the elected governments in the spirit of cooperation and support through the many years.
“In true democratic spirit, Sadhguru and Isha Foundation have worked with various elected governments from across the political spectrum and will continue to do so for the welfare of the people of Tamil Nadu. Co-operation and support have been the nature of our relationship with every government. We regret the deterioration of this culture and the poor standard of public discourse. This is certainly unbecoming of an elected representative and an honorable member of TamilNadu's Cabinet."
On Monday, Thiaga Rajan reiterated his stance that Jaggi Vasudev is a ‘violator of law’ and will ‘pay sooner or later’. He responded to a tweet by Malini Parthasarathy, the Chairperson of the The Hindu Publishing group. Malini had earlier tweeted the open letter by Isha volunteers.
The war of words between Tamil Nadu’s newly elected Finance Minister P Thiagarajan and Isha Foundation escalated on Monday. The heated word exchanges between the two have been going on for the past few days which began with Thiagarajan calling Jaggi Vasudev, the Founder of Isha Foundation, a ‘commercial operator’ and a ‘publicity hound’.
“In the case of Jaggi, he is a publicity hound who is trying to find another angle to make more money. Those making the demand have contended that temples should be run by “bhaktas” (devotees). Will a godman, who is focused on god, be selling Sivarathiri tickets for Rs 5,00,000, Rs 50,000 and Rs 5,000? Is that a sign of a man of god? Is that the identifying mark of a spiritual man? He is a commercial operator pretending to use god and religion to get help,” he questioned.
He was answering a question posed to him on the demand made by several parties, including Jaggi Vasudev’s Isha Foundation, to free Tamil Nadu’s temples and hand over their control to temple managements and devotees. Currently, many big Hindu temples in the state are overseen by the state government under the auspices of the Hindu Religious and Charitable Endowments Department.
In a letter issued by Isha Foundation it said, "We are appalled that Jaggi Vasudev, a man of his stature has been subjected to the Minister’s unparliamentary and uncalled for 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 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 said.
The letter further gave instances of several initiatives taken up by the Isha Foundation and claimed that the foundation has been working closely with the elected governments in the spirit of cooperation and support through the many years.
“In true democratic spirit, Sadhguru and Isha Foundation have worked with various elected governments from across the political spectrum and will continue to do so for the welfare of the people of Tamil Nadu. Co-operation and support have been the nature of our relationship with every government. We regret the deterioration of this culture and the poor standard of public discourse. This is certainly unbecoming of an elected representative and an honorable member of TamilNadu's Cabinet."
On Monday, Thiaga Rajan reiterated his stance that Jaggi Vasudev is a ‘violator of law’ and will ‘pay sooner or later’. He responded to a tweet by Malini Parthasarathy, the Chairperson of the The Hindu Publishing group. Malini had earlier tweeted the open letter by Isha volunteers.