Sabarimala gold row: CPI(M) MLA Surendran sends legal notice to Kerala LoP

Thiruvananthapuram, Oct 9 (PTI) CPI(M) MLA Kadakampally Surendran on Thursday sent a legal notice to Leader of Opposition V D Satheesan, demanding the retraction of allegations linking him to the alleged misuse of gold from Sabarimala temple.

Surendran was the Devaswom Minister in the previous LDF government when the plates were taken to Chennai for electroplating of gold-clad Dwarapalaka (guardian deity) idols.

Following the Kerala High Court’s directive to investigate the reduction in the weight of the Dwarapalaka plates, the Congress leader told reporters outside the Assembly that Surendran should reveal to whom the plates were sold.

In his legal notice, Surendran said the Travancore Devaswom Board (TDB), which manages the daily affairs of Sabarimala, is an independent body, and neither the government nor the minister can interfere in its administration.

He said he had no knowledge of the activities of TDB officials in the maintenance, re-erection, or gold plating of temple artifacts.

"While making such wanton allegations, you transgress all limits of decency and decorum expected from a political leader," the notice stated.

Surendran demanded that Satheesan withdraw his remarks and apologise publicly, failing which he would face a defamation suit seeking Rs two crore in damages to be recovered from his assets.

Reacting to the development, Satheesan said in Pathanamthitta that he would deal with the legal notice legally.

"I only asked which millionaire bought Ayyappa’s Dwarapalaka idols, because it was the High Court that observed that the original idols were sold," he said, alleging that fake moulds were made during their transportation to Chennai while the original idols were sold for a huge sum.

He reiterated that the then Devaswom Minister and the TDB were responsible for the scandal. PTI TBA TBA KH