Kerala is currently engulfed in a fiery political dispute, with the Congress and Bharatiya Janata Party aggressively challenging the ruling Left Democratic Front (LDF) over claims of gold-plated religious artifacts being illicitly removed from the revered Sabarimala Ayyappa temple.
On Tuesday, Sunny Joseph, MLA and president of the Kerala Pradesh Congress Committee (KPCC), condemned the alleged ‘surreptitious replacement’ of the temple’s ancient gold-plated metal carvings and sculptures with ‘replicated copper claddings.’ He asserted that this act represents a profound betrayal of the trust placed by millions of Ayyappa devotees in the Travancore Devaswom Board (TDB), drawing parallels to the contentious entry of women activists into the shrine under LDF rule in 2018.
Joseph highlighted a recent High Court order that uncovered ‘entrenched fraud’ at Sabarimala, including the ‘theft and suspected sale’ of consecrated items to wealthy collectors, as a stark revelation for the public. He declared that this exposé ‘has laid bare the hollowness of the LDF’s Global Ayyappa Sangamam’ held in Pampa in September.
The Congress plans to hold a major rally in Pathanamthitta on October 19, themed ‘protecting Ayyappa faith,’ which will be inaugurated by AICC general secretary K.C. Venugopal. This event will follow a series of regional rallies across the state from October 14 to 19.
Tensions soared on Tuesday as Youth Congress workers initiated their ‘Save Sabarimala’ campaign, clashing with police outside the TDB office in Pathanamthitta. They demanded the resignations of Devaswom Minister V.N. Vasavan and TDB president P.S. Prasanth, resulting in injuries on both sides. In Thiruvananthapuram, police confronted workers from the Bharatiya Janata Yuva Morcha and Hindu Aikya Vedi who attempted to storm the TDB headquarters. BJP leader V. Muraleedharan announced that his party would launch a widespread agitation for Sabarimala’s ‘protection’ and called for a CBI inquiry, citing the ‘scam’s’ potential interstate implications.
CPI(M) Responds to BJP and Congress Criticisms
In response, Communist Party of India (Marxist) [CPI(M)] State Secretary M.V. Govindan dismissed the Congress-BJP efforts to revive their ‘failed’ 2018 ‘faith protection’ slogan. He argued that their current actions are a transparent attempt to bolster their ‘flagging political fortunes’ ahead of the upcoming local body and 2026 Assembly elections, and would not resonate with Kerala voters.
Govindan accused both the Congress and BJP of disrespecting the High Court, which has already established a special investigation team and mandated a 40-day deadline for completing the probe. He also pointed out that the Congress had disrupted legislative proceedings for two consecutive days despite the government’s agreement to an adjournment debate on the issue.
“The CPI(M) will politically neutralize the Congress and BJP’s tactic of fabricating a smokescreen of lies to obscure the LDF’s genuine commitment to Sabarimala’s development and the protection of faith,” Govindan affirmed.