Congress to hold protests in Kerala over Sabarimala gold theft

Thiruvananthapuram, Oct 7 (IANS) The Kerala Pradesh Congress Committee (KPCC), on Tuesday, announced a series of statewide protest marches from October 14 against the State Devaswom Minister V.N. Vasavan demanding his resignation over the alleged protection of the accused in the Sabarimala gold theft case.

The protests will start with a meeting in Pathanamthitta on October 9, inaugurated by Congress General Secretary (Organisation) K.C. Venugopal.

On October 9 evening, Congress ward committees across the state will hold candlelight protests highlighting the issue.

Following this, processions from four districts will be organised, concluding on October 18 at Pandalam.

Leaders spearheading the marches include former KPCC President K. Muraleedharan from Kasaragod, Congress Working Committee member Kodikunnil Suresh, UDF Convener and Congress MP from Thiruvananthapuram MP Adoor Prakash, and Benny Behanan, Congress MP from Moovattupuzha.

State Congress President Sunny Joseph accused the current Devaswom Minister of being aware of the gold theft, failing to investigate, and reappointing individuals involved.

Joseph said that the issue is not just about stolen gold but also concerns temple faith, rituals, and public trust, asserting that Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan bears joint responsibility.

He emphasised that the Kerala High Court had noted the risk of misappropriated gold being transferred, which the Minister Vasavan cannot justify.

Joseph called for a CBI investigation under High Court's supervision, citing the possibility of political interference in the state police probe and stressing that the inquiry must extend across states.

He said that only a central probe agency under judicial oversight could ensure impartiality and accountability.

He also highlighted that gold sheets worth crores of rupees and weighing several kg had disappeared from Sabarimala, yet neither the state government nor the Devaswom Board acted to recover the assets or prosecute the accused.

He credited the High Court's intervention for uncovering the involvement of both the Devaswom board and the Kerala government in the case.

With the present Assembly session ending on Thursday, the Congress has decided to take the protests outside of the state Assembly as the local body polls is to be held soon and the Assembly polls next year.

--IANS

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