New Delhi: Congress MP Jyotiraditya Scindia has written a letter to Union Urban Development Minister Venkaiah Naidu to exempt Jain monks and seers to defecate in the open.

In his letter, Scindia quoted a Jain community leader seeking such an exemption to ascetics who have been following this practice for centuries. In response, Naidu has forwarded the letter to the department concerned.

Scindia has attached the letter he has received from Ramesh Chaudhary, President Shri Digamber Jain Panchayat, Ashok Nagar. The Jain community leader has sought permission to Jain monks and seers to attend the nature’s call in the open.

Keeping in mind the age old practice of open defecation, Scindia says that these Jain monks should be allowed to follow their religious and traditional way of life.

The letter of Digamber Jain Panchayat has referred to the penal provision. In a bid to make Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Clean India Campaign a success, the administration had framed strict laws with a provision of fine ranging from Rs 200 to Rs 5000 to open defecators.