Sabarimala gold plating row: Opposition demands Kerala Minister’s resignation in Assembly

Opposition MLAs in Kerala disrupted Assembly proceedings for the second day, demanding the resignation of the Devaswom Minister over alleged irregularities in Sabarimala’s gold-plated idols. The government defended itself, citing the SIT probe ordered by the Kerala High Court

Thiruvananthapuram: Opposition MLAs in Kerala disrupted Assembly proceedings for the second day on Tuesday, demanding that the State’s Devaswom Minister resign over alleged irregularities linked to the reduced weight of gold-plated coverings on ‘Dwarapalaka’ idols at the Sabarimala temple.

Speaker A N Shamseer first suspended question hour after a ruckus and later adjourned the House for the day as the protests continued unabated. The opposition UDF intensified its protest in the Assembly, despite a Kerala High Court’s directive to form a Special Investigation Team (SIT) to investigate alleged irregularities in the weight of the ‘Dwarapalaka’ idols at the Lord Ayyappa temple.

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The Congress-led UDF raised the striking remarks made by the judiciary in connection with the alleged irregularities as a weapon to attack the Left government. However, the ruling benches led by ministers K N Balagopal, M B Rajesh, and P Rajeev strongly defended the government, accusing the opposition of continuously disrupting the House for their “narrow political gains”.

As soon as the session commenced and Speaker A N Shamseer came to his dais, Leader of Opposition V D Satheesan stood up and raised the High Court’s findings in connection with the alleged irregularities.

Stating that the judiciary’s findings were “shocking”, he alleged that the gold covering of Dwarapalaka idols in Sabarimala “had been sold at a high rate, according to the High Court”. Through this, the Travancore Devaswom Board (TDB), the temple body which manages the shrine, has not only destroyed the sanctity of Sabarimala Temple but also cheated lakhs of devotees of Lord Ayyappa, he alleged.

“Therefore, our strong demand is that the Devaswom Minister should resign and the TDB should be dissolved. And the government should announce the decision right now,” Satheesan said.

However, ministers Rajesh and Rajeev vehemently criticised the opposition and alleged that their continuing protest was a drama. “The government has already welcomed the Special Investigation Team (SIT) probe ordered by the High Court in this regard. The stand taken by the LoP is that he won’t even accept the honourable court,” he alleged.

The Minister also alleged that the opposition was trying to disrupt the Assembly proceedings for their “narrow political gains”. Rajesh also slammed the UDF over the protest and said they were scared of the judiciary, the Assembly, debates, and people, and the protest in the House was “proof of that”.

Though the Speaker repeatedly asked the agitating opposition MLAs to go back to their seats, they didn’t heed. “The government is ready for a debate on the matter. The SIT has already been formed. Then why are you protesting?” Shamseer asked.

When the House resumed after temporarily stopping following the suspension of the question hour, the Speaker took up the calling attention and other listed businesses, ignoring the UDF protest.

With protesters raising a banner in front of the Speaker’s podium, blocking his vision, and raising slogans while standing there holding placards, Shamseer hurriedly took up other businesses listed for the day.

Many ministers conveyed their displeasure at the lapse of opportunities to discuss significant bills on the floor of the House due to the ruckus. Finance Minister Balagopal accused the Congress-led UDF of colluding with the BJP-RSS in the Sabarimala row to target the government.

He alleged that what the BJP was saying outside was raised by the UDF inside the House. Even the protest slogan in Hindi, “LDF chor hei”, being raised by the UDF legislators in the House, was similar to that of the one used by the RSS outside, Balagopal charged.

“All these protests in the Assembly are to indirectly support the BJP,” he added. Sharing similar views, Rajeev also attacked the opposition and said, “The UDF is presenting in the House what the BJP says outside.”

He accused the UDF of adopting a stand that there is no need to discuss the matters affecting the lives of common people and their issues in the House. Various subject committee reports were presented, and the Kerala Appropriation Bill was introduced amidst the ruckus.

The speaker said the House was adjourned for the day and would be convened on Wednesday morning. The Kerala High Court on Monday directed the formation of an SIT to investigate alleged irregularities related to the reduced weight of gold-clad copper plates of the guardian deity idols at Sabarimala.

The weight reduction was revealed during the proceedings in court in connection with the claddings being again sent for gold-plating this year, but without informing the High Court.
During the proceedings, it was found that when the claddings were last taken out of the Lord Ayyappa shrine for gold-plating in 2019, there was a reduction in their weight by around 4.5 kg, which had not been reported by the Devaswom officials.

Last week, the court had ordered a comprehensive inventory of all valuables, including gold, at the Sabarimala temple under the supervision of retired Justice K T Sankaran.