Congress will fight for rights of Ayyappa devotees: KC Venugopal

Pathanamthitta (Kerala), Oct 9 (PTI) AICC general secretary K C Venugopal on Thursday said the Congress will fight for the cause of Ayyappa devotees till a High Court-monitored CBI enquiry is ordered into the alleged gold heist exposed by the court at the Sabarimala temple.

Inaugurating a ‘Vishwasa Sangamam’ (confluence of believers) organised by the Kerala Pradesh Congress Committee (KPCC) here, he said the government and the Travancore Devaswom Board (TDB) cannot absolve itself of the responsibility for the "transformation" of gold-clad ‘Dwarapalaka idols’ into copper when it was taken for repair at Chennai.

"The government and TDB obviously knew the irregularities at the temple and tried to hide it. The fact would not have come out without the intervention of the High Court," he said.

He said the people and Ayyappa devotees will not allow the LDF government to "steal" the assets of the Lord.

While welcoming the High Court order appointing a special investigating team led by ADGP into the alleged heist at the temple, he said only a CBI probe could unearth the mystery behind the entire episode.

Venugopal alleged that even Gods and devotees were not being spared by the LDF government led by Pinarayi Vijayan under their "corrupt administration." He said the Congress will also mobilise Sabarimala devotees from Andhra Pradesh and Tamil Nadu in its fight to protect the assets of the Lord.

The weight reduction was revealed during the proceedings in the Kerala High Court in connection with the claddings being again sent for gold-plating this year, but without informing the 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.

KPCC president Sunny Joseph MLA, Leader of Opposition in the Kerala Assembly V D Satheesan, Congress Working Committee members Ramesh Chennithala, Kodikkunnil Suresh, UDF convenor Adoor Prakash MP, and Pathanamthitta MP Anto Antony were among those who spoke. PTI MVG MVG KH