VHP on Tuesday lauded Jain saint Tarun Sagar's speech in Haryana Assembly stressing on significance of dharma in socio-politics and condemned those insulting him by saying free speech does not give the right to hurt 'our traditions, socio-religious sentiments and symbols'.

New Delhi: VHP on Tuesday lauded Jain saint Tarun Sagar's speech in Haryana Assembly stressing on significance of dharma in socio-politics and condemned those insulting him by saying free speech does not give the right to hurt "our traditions, socio-religious sentiments and symbols".

"I also appeal to all in Bharat and abroad not to ridicule/insult any saint or/and anything that has been a revered part of our socio-religious psyche for ages. Freedom of Speech is not the right to hurt our socio-religious sentiments and symbols.

"VHP strongly condemns frivolous and insulting remarks by Vishal Dadlani and the likes. It has become a fancy fashion to ridicule, humiliate and insult all that is a part of a socio-religious psyche and then term it 'art', 'Freedom of Speech' etc.

It is deplorable and we condemn all such efforts to demean and degrade our socio-religious symbols of faith," VHP International Working President Pravin Togadia said. He said Jain saint Tarun Sagar, who has shared dais and guided all greatly, gave a "great speech" in Haryana Assembly stressing on significance of Dharma in socio-political aspects and appealed to all not to insult saints in the name of freedom of speech.

"We appeal all not to insult Sants and all that is an integral part of socio-religious psyche for ages. Free speech does not mean right to hurt our traditions," he also said. Praising the Jain saint for his speech as a "great guidance to the nation and to politicians", Togadia said it is a commendable step by the Haryana Assembly to invite him.

"Munishri Maharaj has stressed on the significance of dharma over Politics in socio-political aspects and all should keep that in mind. Munishri Maharaji's pearls of wisdom are important and a guiding path to all. All Jain Sants have been a guiding source for VHP and we respect them all," he said.

Music composer Vishal Dadlani was booked by Haryana police for allegedly hurting religious sentiments with his sarcastic tweet on Jain monk Tarun Sagar. Ambala Cantt police registered a case against Dadlani and one Tahseen Poonawala, a Congress activist who also tweeted on the Jain monk, even as Jain community members staged a protest outside Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal's residence in the national capital, demanding the composer's immediate arrest.

The case against Dadlani and Poonawala in Ambala was registered under relevant sections including 153A (promoting enmity between classes), 295A (maliciously insulting the religion or religious beliefs of any class) and 509 of the IPC (uttering any word or making any gesture to insult the modesty of a woman etc), police said.

The Haryana government had invited the Jain monk, who appeared in nude, to deliver a lecture Kadve Vachan in the Assembly on Friday.