PM to attend AoL event, Sri Sri refuses to pay fine

“We have not done anything wrong...we will go to jail but not pay a penny,” Sri Sri told a news channel hours before the mega event begins.

“We have not done anything wrong. We have been taintless and will remain so. We will go to jail but not pay a penny,” said Ravi Shankar. Incidentally, Art of Living has spent upwards of Rs 26 crores on its extravaganza.

Meanwhile, Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s office on Thursday confirmed that he will attend the opening of the “World Culture Festival” on Friday. 

The Art of Living’s three-day cultural jamboree is to be held on the ecologically-sensitive banks of the Yamuna river. President Pranab Mukherjee had earlier opted out from the function.

Ravi Shankar also tweeted that his foundation was not ‘satisfied’ with the NGT’s verdict would appeal it. He also urged political parties not to ‘politicise’ the event. The opposition had raised the matter in the House demanding cancellation of the event.

The green court had cleared the three-day extravaganza with the rider that the organisers must deposit a Rs five-crore fine ahead of the inauguration. “We have till Friday ...things are fast-changing,” a lawyer for the Art of Living Foundation, which is led by Sri Sri, was quoted by a TV channel.

The National Green Tribunal has warned that after the event, the organisers are likely to be presented a much larger bill prepared by its experts; Sri Sri said he will challenge all fines because “we have not done anything wrong.”