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Bharatiya Janata Party's Kerala unit President Rajeev Chandrasekhar hit out at the Communist Party of India (Marxist)-led state government for allegedly indulging in "corruption to an unforgiveable level" regarding the gold plating row in Sabarimala temple. The Kerala BJP chief also wondered if smaller temples, which are under various Devaswom boards across the state are also having a similar situation.
"The gold of Sabarimala temple has been stolen and has been taken away by the people of the Devaswom Board which is headed by a communist and has been appointed by a Minister in the CPM Government. It is shocking and shameless. It is taking corruption to an unforgivable level, where even temples are not out of reach for those who are corrupt", Chandrasekhar told ANI here. While condemning the alleged theft, he further questioned the state of smaller temples which do not have as many visitors, since a famous temple like Sabarimala could have such an incident. "I never thought we would be discussing how a political party would be involved in the theft of 4.5 kg of gold in Sabarimala. If this can happen to a shrine like Sabarimala, which sees a large number of devotees every year, imagine the condition of smaller temples. Is the same loot going on there?" he questioned. Meanwhile, Kerala Devaswom Minister V N Vasavan also mentioned that the TDB Vigilance will submit its preliminary report to the High Court on October 8. "The opposition staged a big, futile effort to create a controversy. Based on the High Court's directive, the Devaswom Vigilance is conducting an investigation. The preliminary report will be submitted to the court tomorrow (October 6)", the minister said in a press conference in Thiruvananthapuram. On October 5, TDB Vigilance recorded the statement of Unnikrishnan Potty, a former helper and the sponsor of gold-plating works at the Sabarimala Ayyappa Temple, for the second consecutive day. The issue intensified when Unnikrishnan Potti claimed that two gold-plated panels donated to the temple in 2019 were missing from the strongroom, just ahead of the TDB-sponsored Global Ayyappa Sangamam event. Recently, the TDB vigilance had recovered the "missing" items, but it was alleged that around 5 kg of weight was lost from the plates. Notably, the Kerala High Court has ordered Special Investigation Team (SIT) probe into the alleged theft of over 4 kg of gold from Sabarimala's premises. The court has ordered the SIT, led by S Sasidharan and overseen by Additional Director General of Police (ADGP) H Venkatesh. The team will consist of three inspectors, including cyber experts. (ANI)
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