Thiruvananthapuram: Leader of Opposition (LoP) in Kerala Assembly, V.D. Satheesan, Tuesday said the gold of the famed Sabarimala temple’s Dwarapalaka plates was sold for crores of rupees with the approval of the Devaswom Board and the government.
Speaking to reporters soon after the day’s session in the Kerala Legislative Assembly was wound up following the protests by the Congress-led Opposition, Satheesan said the High Court’s findings had confirmed the Opposition’s long-standing charge that a “grave act of theft and sale” had taken place at Sabarimala.
“The court has made it clear that what occurred was a serious fraud. The original gold-plated Dwarapalaka (guardian deity) plates were taken out of the temple and sold at a high price, while a copper mould was sent to Chennai in their place. When it was brought back, the Devaswom Board pretended not to notice the difference in weight,” he said.
Satheesan alleged that the Board and the government deliberately covered up the theft because senior officials would otherwise have been implicated.
“Knowing everything, they re-appointed the same Unnikrishnan Potti in 2015 for the next round of gold work,” added Satheesan.
The Opposition, he said, therefore demanded the resignation of the Devaswom Minister V.N. Vasavan and the dismissal of the Board.
The High Court’s criticism, Satheesan said, underlined that the Opposition’s concerns were legitimate.
He cited an email sent by Potti to then Board president N. Vasu, asking for leftover temple gold to be used for the wedding of a woman who needed support.
“That was Ayyappan’s gold. Vasu, who has CPI(M) connections, cannot claim ignorance,” Satheesan said, adding that the ruling party must reveal in whose mansion the original idol now rests.
He also accused the government of hypocrisy in invoking judicial authority. “Three present-day Ministers who once insulted and drove out Chief Justice V.K. Bali for ordering a CBI probe in the Lavalin case are now preaching respect for the courts,” he said.
Satheesan said protests would continue “inside and outside the House until accountability is fixed”.
“The Sabarimala sanctity has been violated, devotees deceived, and public trust broken,” he declared. “Those at the top must answer for the theft that has shamed the state.”
IANS
