Thiruvananthapuram, Oct 8(PTI) The BJP and its youth wing held protests at various places in Kerala over the alleged irregularities in the gold-plating of ‘Dwarapalaka’ idols at the Sabarimala temple.
Meanwhile, the Congress continued its criticism and accusations against the Left government in the matter with Leader of Opposition in the state assembly V D Satheesan alleging that the original ‘Dwarapalaka’ (guardian deity) idols have been sold to a rich person.
In the state capital, the BJP held a march to Cliff House, the official residence of Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan, accusing him and his government of looting the gold from Sabarimala.
Carrying a banner accusing the CM and his associates of “looting the gold” from the Lord Ayyappa shrine, a large number of BJP leaders and workers marched through the state capital to Cliff House.
They also shouted slogans against the Left government and demanded the resignation of state Devaswom Minister V N Vasavan.
They were stopped from reaching the CM’s residence by the barricades set up by the police.
The BJP’s youth wing, Yuva Morcha, held a protest march to the office of the Devaswom Deputy Commissioner at Pathanamthitta, in connection with the alleged irregularities which have created waves in the political waters of the state.
Besides them, the Youth Congress also held protests in connection with the issue.
They held protest marches in Alappuzha against a few former Devaswom officials, including B Murari Babu, who was suspended as administrative officer of the shrine on Tuesday, pending an enquiry in the alleged irregularities.
During the day, Satheesan told reporters here that the CM was silent on the issue till date even after the UDF opposition raised the matter in the House and gave a notice to discuss the issue in the Assembly.
He was replying to reporters who pointed out that the CM has accused the opposition of running away from the issue and it is not willing to discuss it in the House.
Vijayan, during the House proceedings on Wednesday, accused the UDF-led opposition of creating a “smokescreen” over the Sabarimala gold-plating issue and said the government is not scared of any such attempts.
He alleged that the Congress-led front was afraid of facts, and that is why they were continuously disrupting Assembly proceedings and reluctant to give a notice to discuss the matter in the House.
Satheesan told reporters that the opposition had given a notice, but it was rejected. “Where was the CM then? Why was he silent?” the opposition leader asked.
He further contended that no press conference was held by the CM on the issue. “We do not want any discussion on this matter now. We will continue with our protests inside and outside the House,” he added.
He further said that the Congress has sought a court-monitored probe by the CBI because of lack of faith in the state police.
On Monday, the Kerala High Court directed the formation of a Special Investigation Team (SIT) to probe into alleged irregularities related to the reduced weight of gold-clad copper plates adorning the guardian deity idols at Sabarimala.
The weight reduction came to light during court proceedings on a decision to send the claddings for gold-plating again this year, without informing the High Court.
It was revealed that when the claddings were last removed from the Lord Ayyappa shrine for gold-plating in 2019, their weight had reduced by about 4.5 kg, a fact that had not been reported by Devaswom officials. PTI HMP HMP ADB