A police complaint was filed against singer Vishal Dadlani at Chembur after he tweeted that Jain monk Tarun Sagar's invitation to address Haryana legislators was reflective of an "unhealthy trend of religion colouring politics". The police said they were seeking legal opinion on the matter. Dadlani had deleted the tweet and apologised to the Jain community and "all others offended by his comment" before announcing on Twitter that he had quit politics on Sunday.
According to an ANI report, Dadlani's deleted tweeted said, "That dude has the same education, as he has clothes on. None. I’ve no problem with nudity. I have a problem with religion in governance." Delhi Chief Minister and Aam Aadmi Party chief Arvind Kejriwal distanced himself from the stir that Dadlani, an AAP proponent, found himself in the middle of. Kejriwal described Tarun Sagar as "a very revered saint, not just for Jains but everyone. Those showing disrespect is unfortunate and should stop."
Meanwhile Sagar told ANI that Dadlani's comments stemmed from ignorance about Jainism. He had addressed the Haryana Assembly in the nude. He said, “He just knows that the Digambar Sadhus remain naked. He does not know about the Indian culture. Had he known about that, he would not have made such a comment. There is no question of apology as I am not angry with him. But the people of society, who respect me, get hurt and they protest.”
Sagar, who is referred to as Maharaj ji, said he had been invited to address the Delhi Assembly eight months ago, but that the programme was cancelled. "Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal and Speaker Ram Niwas Goel had invited me. The Speaker had told me that we would like to hear your speech whenever you come to Delhi. The work of the saints is to speak and make people understand…they do that,” he added.
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