Congress had pressured me to give statements against Dhami Acharya Pramod Krishnam

Dehradun, Nov 27 (PTI) Acharya Pramod Krishnam, who was expelled from the Congress last year, alleged on Thursday that party leadership had pressured him to make statements against Uttarakhand Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami.
     However, Krishnam said that he refused to make statements against Dhami, which upset Congress leaders in Delhi.
     Krishnam said this while speaking at the release of a book on CM Dhami at Raj Bhavan.
     He explained that he cannot give a statement against a chief minister just because he belongs to the opposition party.
     "I said that I will not make unflattering statements against Pushkar Singh Dhami because I cannot make statements against a saint," he asserted.
     He said that Delhi (top Congress leaders) expressed displeasure over this, and he was asked to withdraw his statement.
     "I was asked how I could call Pushkar Singh Dhami a saint. I said that all those who accept the truth with simplicity and willingness are saints."
     Speaking to reporters later, Krishnam said that Dhami has a clean image, but the Congress party wanted to defame him.

(This story has not been edited by THE WEEK and is auto-generated from PTI)