Kerala BJP Seeks CM Vijayan’s Resignation Over Sabarimala Gold Theft Case

The Kerala unit of the Bharatiya Janata Party protested outside the residence of Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan’s house, demanding his resignation over the handling of the Sabarimala alleged gold theft case.

Kerala BJP president, Rajeev Chandrasekhar, while attending the protest, said that “it has become obvious that skeletons are tumbling out of the CPI (M) government’s closet”, alleging that the party has “presided” over multiple corruption scandals.

“It is becoming more and more obvious as the skeletons are tumbling out of the CPI (M) government’s closet. Over the last 10 years, the CPI (M) has presided over a reign of corruption that has not even hesitated to go in and steal from temples”, he told reporters outside the residence of the Chief Minister.

He further said that other temples in Calicut and Kozhikode have also alleged that their gold has been stolen.

“Today, there is a report that some temples in Calicut and even in Kozhikode have gold missing… In 2016, Pinarayi Vijayan had said that, along with accountability, people in government must have shame to admit to crimes. Talking about the then Congress CM, he said, if he had even an ounce of shame, he should resign”, he said.

Meanwhile, BJP leader V Muraleedharan also attended the protest and mentioned that the opposition parties had raised the issue in the legislative assembly today, but the CM is “taking a casual approach” to the issue. The BJP leader demanded the dismissal of the Travancore Devaswom Board (TDB), which manages the Sabarimala temple.

“The CM, inspite of all these issues, is taking a casual approach to the matter. When this issue was raised in the assembly today, the CM chose not even to mention Sabarimala. He spoke about every other issue and then said that there is an enquiry going on. Everyone knows that, but the issue demands a more serious approach from the CM. We are demanding that the CM dismiss the Devaswom Board”, Muraleedharan mentioned.

“The Board cannot blame it on a few officers. What is the Board even for? The Devaswom Minister gets the report once every three months. So is he not aware of all these things for the last 10 years?” the BJP leader added.

Earlier, as Chief Minister Vijayan broke his silence and spoke about the issue, he assured that “no offender will be allowed to escape” and the government has been proactive in investigating the matter.

“In the Sabarimala gold plating controversy, the government announced an investigation right from the beginning. We will never protect any wrongdoers. The government’s stance is to take action without favour, regardless of who is at fault. A special investigation team was appointed in this matter,” CM Vijayan said.

Meanwhile, the Kerala Assembly witnessed protests by the Opposition over the controversy and refused to cooperate in the Assembly proceedings until the state’s Devaswom minister, V.N. Vasavan, resigned.

“For the past two days, the opposition has not cooperated with the Assembly proceedings. We will continue to withhold cooperation in legislative proceedings until the Devaswom Minister resigns”, the Leader of Opposition in Kerala Assembly VD Satheeshan said.

Meanwhile, Travancore Devaswom Board (TDB) President PS Prashanth said that the Devaswom Vigilance will submit its report on the investigation on October 10. He further dismissed any claims of the TDB having links with Unnikrishnan Potti. (ANI)