Several Opposition parties on Friday protested in the Rajya Sabha against Sri Sri Ravi Shankar allegedly striking a defiant note by refusing to pay fine imposed by the National Green Tribunal(NGT) and called for action against him. JD(U) leader Sharad Yadav even demanded the spiritual guru’s arrest and charged the Government for colluding with him.
Minister of State for Parliamentary Affairs Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi denied the Opposition’s charge and said Ravi Shankar’s commitment to environment could not be doubted. In lighter vein, the Minister also urged Yadav to attend the three-day festival when the JD-U leader said the Prime Minister was attending the function.
Raising the issue during Zero Hour, Yadav said without naming Ravi Shankar that he was defying the NGT and the entire system. “Is he above the law and system. Government should arrest him immediately,” he said adding the Government was in collusion with the spiritual guru. Yadav also sought to know the reason for permitting Ravi Shankar to hold the function on Yamuna floodplains despite objections by CPWD and NGT.
leader of Opposition Ghulam Nabi Azad and his Congress party colleagues besides JD-U and left parties backed Yadav’s contention. Former Environment Minister and Congress member Jairam Ramesh said the festival would lead to “complete ecological destruction” of the Yamuna flood plains as in case of the Akshardham temple and the Common Wealth Games (CWG).