Central agency should investigate Sabarimala gold plating row: Kerala BJP

New Delhi, Oct 6 (IANS) Kerala BJP president Rajeev Chandrasekhar said on Monday that the Sabarimala gold plating controversy must be investigated by a central investigating agency.

“This cannot be investigated by the Kerala Police as the state police comes under the state Home Minister, and the Home Minister is the Chief Minister of the state. This controversy must be investigated by a central agency,” Chandrasekhar told IANS.

He emphasised that the BJP has asked for the resignation of the Devaswom Minister and the Devaswom Board Chairman.

“We will hit the streets and march to the Chief Minister's house on Tuesday to make people of Kerala aware of what kind of government today exists under Pinarayi Vijayan,” said Chandrasekhar.

His jibe at the state government comes at a time when the Kerala High Court on Monday ordered a SIT to be headed by ADG of Police H. Venkatesh.

The Apex Court has asked the SIT to submit its report in one month’s time.

“What is happening in Kerala is shameful, unforgivable, and unpardonable. We all know how Pinarayi Vijayan's government is embroiled in scams. His daughter's company, his principal secretary smuggling gold, and others. It is utterly shocking how some government agencies are involved in looting gold from the sacred shrine of Sabarimala,” Chandrasekhar told IANS.

“It is an unforgivable sin. People are very angry and agitated about the sacred issue. The BJP will create awareness about it, and make sure that people who are accountable for this crime are held to account and are prosecuted,” added Chandrasekhar.

He said that Sabarimala is a sacred temple, adding that the Devaswom Board is the Kerala government-mandated organisation that is supposed to look after and maintain the safety and upkeep of all the assets of these temples.

“Today, we find 4 and 1/2 kgs of gold are missing, where the gold was sent for plating when it was not required to be sent,” he said.

He alleged that the man who is running with this gold around the state is closely associated with Congress and the CPI-M.

“Who was giving him the authority to do this? Who authorised him to take the Sabarimala gold when it was not required? And how come 4 and 1/2 kgs of gold are missing? Another story says gold used from 2009 to 2013 has now been replaced by brass and copper,” he claimed.

He pointed out that it points to a growing concern about not just bhaktas, but generally all Malayalis, over what is happening in the state.

“We cannot imagine corruption happening in temples and other places of worship,” he said.

The state BJP chief said that a few days back, a newspaper article said that 25,000 acres of temple land had been encroached and taken over by people close to the government.

“These are all troubling issues, which need to be investigated quickly,” he said.

--IANS

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