Despite a few leaders choosing to abstain, the Kerala Pradesh Congress Committee (KPCC) successfully concluded its ‘faith protection march’ in Pandalam on Saturday. This significant event, organized in protest against the alleged gold theft at Sabarimala, served as a powerful display of unity within the United Democratic Front (UDF).
During the valedictory session, Opposition Leader V.D. Satheesan delivered a sharp critique of the State government. His focus was the alleged theft of gold from the sacred Dwarapalaka idols and door frames of the revered Sabarimala Ayyappa temple.
Satheesan accused certain members and officials of the Travancore Devaswom Board (TDB), along with Unnikrishnan Potti, of being involved in the alleged scam. He specifically highlighted that despite knowing about Potti’s questionable past involvement, TDB president P.S. Prasanth and the Devaswom Minister repeatedly assigned him significant gold-plating projects.
Furthermore, the Opposition leader claimed that TDB officials attempted to illegally take possession of the renowned Ezharaponnana statue from the Ettumanur Mahadeva Temple. He also renewed his call for the government to drop all legal proceedings against devotees who participated in the peaceful ‘Namajapa’ protests during the 2018 Sabarimala women’s entry controversy.
The event saw the presence of several prominent figures, including KPCC president Sunny Joseph, veteran Congress leader Ramesh Chennithala, IUML leader N. Shamsuddin, Kerala Congress Chairman P.J. Joseph, and RSP leader N.K. Premachandran, alongside numerous other Congress leaders.
This session in Pandalam was the culmination of a series of ‘foot marches’ organized by the KPCC across four distinct zones, each led by prominent figures: Benny Behnan, Adoor Prakash, K. Muraleedharan, and Kodikunnil Suresh.
Earlier in the day, there was some uncertainty surrounding the attendance of K. Muraleedharan, who had successfully led one of the zonal marches to Chengannur. Reports indicated he initially skipped the morning session, reportedly expressing discontent over the recent KPCC restructuring. Party insiders suggested Muraleedharan’s frustration stemmed from the omission of K.M. Haris from the newly appointed list of KPCC general secretaries.
A party source clarified that Muraleedharan had left the event to visit the Guruvayur temple. However, the situation was defused after Mr. Satheesan personally contacted him, and he was anticipated to join the Pandalam gathering later that evening.
Concurrently, ‘A’ group leader Chandy Oommen, an MLA who had previously voiced his disapproval regarding the KPCC revamp, also chose not to attend the event.