"Loot of sacred shrines...": Kerala BJP chief demands independent central probe into Devaswom board

Thiruvananthapuram (Kerala) [India], October 10 : Reacting to the Sabarimala alleged gold theft case, Kerala Bharatiya Janata Party President Rajeev Chandrasekhar on Friday claimed that the loot of sacred shrines in the State goes back 10-20 years. He demanded that an independent central investigation be launched into the activities of the Devaswom board and the alleged loot of all the temples of Kerala.
Speaking to ANI, Chandrasekhar said, "There is no doubt in any Malayali's mind that crimes have been committed, gold has been looted not just from Sabarimala but across temples from Kerala. There are powerful people behind these crimes, and this kind of activity, this kind of shameless, unforgivable loot of sacred shrines, is not an issue that happened six months ago. This goes back 10-20 years. That is why we are demanding an investigation into the activities of Devaswom over the last 30 years. That is why we are demanding that the 30 years of Devaswom vigilance reports be made public."
"That is why we are demanding that an independent central investigation be launched into the activities of the Devaswom board and all the loot of all the temples of Kerala, and the criminals identified, prosecuted and sent to jail. Till that happens, we will not rest," he said.
He further said that BJP Kerala would not rest till those responsible are sent to jail.
"We will ensure that there is an investigation and those who are guilty are sent to jail," he added.
On October 8, the Kerala unit of the BJP protested outside the residence of Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan, demanding his resignation over the handling of the alleged gold theft case.
Chandrasekhar, while attending the protest, said that "it has become obvious that skeletons are tumbling out of the CPI (M) government's closet", alleging that the party has "presided" over multiple corruption scandals.
"It is becoming more and more obvious as the skeletons are tumbling out of the CPI (M) government's closet. Over the last 10 years, the CPI (M) has presided over a reign of corruption that has not even hesitated to go in and steal from temples", he told reporters outside the residence of the Chief Minister.
He further said that other temples in Kozhikode have also alleged that their gold has been stolen.
Earlier, Chief Minister Vijayan had assured that "no offender will be allowed to escape" and the government has been proactive in investigating the matter.
"In the Sabarimala gold plating controversy, the government announced an investigation right from the beginning. We will never protect any wrongdoers. The government's stance is to take action without favour, regardless of who is at fault. A special investigation team was appointed in this matter," Chief Minister Vijayan said.
Meanwhile, the Kerala Assembly witnessed protests by the Opposition over the controversy and refused to cooperate in the Assembly proceedings until the state's Devaswom minister, V.N. Vasavan, resigned."For the past two days, the opposition has not cooperated with the Assembly proceedings. We will continue to withhold cooperation in legislative proceedings until the Devaswom Minister resigns", the Leader of Opposition in Kerala Assembly VD Satheeshan said.
Travancore Devaswom Board (TDB) President PS Prashanth said that the Devaswom Vigilance will submit its report on the investigation on October 10. He further dismissed any claims of the TDB having links with Unnikrishnan Potti.