The Congress and BJP have gained unexpected momentum ahead of the local body elections, with the Sabarimala gold-plating scandal emerging as a potent political weapon against the CPI(M)-led LDF government.
Both parties have accused the LDF government of facilitating the alleged looting of temple gold through the state-run Travancore Devaswom Board (TDB), which has LDF leaders as its president and members.
KPCC president Sunny Joseph on Saturday said the Congress would launch a strong protest against the alleged “theft” of gold from Sabarimala by mobilising devotees.
Speaking to mediapersons in Kozhikode, Joseph said such a large quantity of gold could not have disappeared without the knowledge of those in the Travancore Devaswom Board.
The Congress plans to take up the alleged gold theft issue in a big way. The party will organise a protest meeting titled ‘Prathishedha Jyothi’ in Pathanamthitta on October 9, to be inaugurated by AICC general secretary K. C. Venugopal. Similar protest meetings are being planned in other parts of the state as well.
Opposition Leader in the Kerala Assembly V. D. Satheesan has demanded a High Court-monitored CBI probe into the controversy surrounding the gold-plating of the Dwarapalaka idols at the sanctum sanctorum of the Sabarimala Lord Ayyappa temple.
The senior Congress leader also called on the government and the Devaswom Board to clarify how much of the 30 kilograms of gold donated in 1998 by industrialist Vijay Mallya still remains.
“The gold-plating carried out in 1999 was said to have a 40-year warranty. However, in 2019, it was taken for replating, and there was a delay of 39 to 40 days between the time it was taken from Sabarimala and when it reached Chennai,” Satheesan said, alleging that the gold was stolen during that period.
He further demanded the resignation of Devaswom Minister V. N. Vasavan and the Travancore Devaswom Board President over the missing gold issue.
Congress Working Committee member Ramesh Chennithala demanded a comprehensive probe under the supervision of the High Court Devaswom Bench, terming the vigilance inquiry by the Devaswom Department as “like entrusting an investigation to a thief.”
With the Sabarimala gold-plating controversy snowballing into a major political storm, the BJP in Kerala has termed the incident a “gold heist” and demanded a CBI investigation.
Party leaders alleged that gold donated by devotees was misappropriated under the guise of plating the Dwarapalaka idols and sanctum panels, and demanded the resignation of the Devaswom Minister and dissolution of the Travancore Devaswom Board.
BJP national executive committee member PK Krishnadas announced that the party would stage a protest march to the Chief Minister’s residence (Cliff House) on Tuesday and to the Pathanamthitta Civil Station on Wednesday.
Addressing a press conference in Pathanamthitta, Krishnadas claimed that crucial documents related to Sabarimala were smuggled before the Global Ayyappa Meet.
“This was not a minor lapse but a large-scale heist at one of the world’s most revered pilgrimage centres. Since the scandal stretches across South India, it cannot be handled by state agencies alone. If there is nothing to hide, why hesitate to call for a CBI investigation?” he asked.
Krishnadas also demanded criminal charges against the Devaswom Minister and the presidents of the Board who held office during the period.
The BJP’s statewide outreach initiative ‘Grihasamparka Yajn”, launched on September 25 ahead of the local body elections, has received a boost as the party found an opportunity to politically corner the CPI(M) and the LDF government over the Sabarimala gold-plating scandal.
Earlier, the BJP leadership was concerned about the support extended by community organisations like the Nair Service Society (NSS) and the Sree Narayana Dharma Paripalana (SNDP) Yogam to the LDF during the recent Global Ayyappa Meet.
However, with allegations of massive gold theft at Sabarimala coming to the fore, the party now sees an opportunity not only to counter the CPI(M) and the LDF but also to consolidate its Hindu vote base, which it had feared was slipping away.
BJP Kerala president Rajeev Chandrasekhar on Friday launched a scathing attack on Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan and the CPI(M), stating, “For Pinarayi Vijayan’s CPI(M), nothing is sacred — even corruption and stealing from temples is acceptable.”
He further said that the allegations related to the missing Sabarimala gold must be probed not by a retired judge appointed by the state government but by an independent agency.