Kochi: The Opposition Congress-led UDF has escalated its calls for the resignation of Kerala’s Minister for Temple Affairs (Devaswom), VN Vasavan, and the President of the Travancore Devaswom Board (TDB), PS Prasanth. This demand follows recent observations made by the High Court regarding the Sabarimala gold pilferage scandal.
The High Court’s division bench on Tuesday expressed suspicion that senior officials within the TDB might have collaborated to conceal the theft of gold from gold-clad plates adorning the ‘Dwarapalaka’ (door guardian) sculptures at the Sabarimala temple. This suspicion is based on a preliminary report submitted by the Special Investigation Team (SIT). The court highlighted that Unnikrishnan Potty, the primary accused, was allegedly permitted by TDB officials to retain approximately 409 grams of gold extracted from the sanctum sanctorum’s side frames. The High Court emphasized that the Board took no action to recover this gold, despite being fully aware of the situation.
Additionally, Opposition Leader VD Satheesan stated on Wednesday that the High Court’s observations have validated the UDF’s accusations against the LDF government and the TDB concerning the gold theft case.
Satheesan detailed that the Thiruvabharana Commissioner had initially advised the Board against removing the gold plates from the temple premises, expressing distrust in the Chennai-based agency. However, on August 8, the same commissioner reversed this stance, suggesting the plates could be given to Potty. Satheesan argued that the current TDB president’s intervention likely influenced this change of position, and without the High Court’s intervention, the gold plates, which were meant for renovation in 2025, might have been sold off.
He further stated, “It is clear that the current Devaswom minister and the TDB council are involved in the gold theft. It is essential that the minister resigns and the current TDB council is dismissed.”
Echoing these sentiments, BJP state chief Rajeev Chandrasekhar also called for Vasavan’s resignation in light of the case’s revelations.
Conversely, Prasanth refuted the claim that the current council had intervened to facilitate the handover of the gold-clad plates to Potty. “The court’s observations in this regard are unfortunate. We will request our standing counsel to approach the court to clarify our position. In the four orders issued by the TDB since 2024, we have not indicated that the gold plates should be handed over to Potty, either directly or indirectly,” he stated.