Swaroopanand Saraswati misbehaves with reporter on Modi query

Jagadguru Swami Swaroopanand Saraswati, the Shankaracharya of the Sharda and Jyotish Peeths, allegedly misbehaved with a television reporter here when he sought his views on Narendra Modi becoming the Prime Minister.
The alleged incident took place on Tuesday when the reporter, along with the news channel crew, had gone to meet the seer at Baglamukhi Devi temple.
According to the reporter, the Shankaracharya lost his cool and allegedly tried to slap him when he asked the seer about likely impact on the country's development if Narendra Modi becomes prime minister.
"...But I ducked and the Jagadguru's hand only hit my mike," he said.

The reporter said he decided against lodging an FIR with police as Swaroopanand Saraswati is held in high esteem by people.
Meanwhile, the Shankaracharya has denied the incident saying he had merely asked the reporter to refrain from asking questions on politics.

Former Jabalpur mayor Kalyani Pandey said she was present when the incident happened.
"The Jagadguru had only told the reporter not to ask questions on politics and concentrate only on religion", she said.
Pandey said the Shankaracharya himself removed the mike saying the entire interview was being distorted.