UDF, CPI(M) leaders spar over Sonia’s meeting with accused in Sabarimala gold loss case

Thiruvananthapuram, Dec 25 (PTI) UDF convenor Adoor Prakash and CPI(M) state secretary M V Govindan spoke to the media on Thursday regarding the meeting between Sonia Gandhi and an accused in the Sabarimala gold loss case, a day after Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan questioned senior Congress leaders over the issue.

Prakash acknowledged that Unnikrishnan Potty, an accused in the case, had secured an appointment to meet Sonia Gandhi. He said he had accompanied Potty to the meeting in his capacity as an MP.

"It is true that I went to meet Sonia Gandhi. I did not know that the person who came with me was a criminal linked to the gold loss," Prakash said.

He added that he was unaware of who arranged the opportunity for Potty to meet Sonia Gandhi and asked the media to find out.

Photographs from the meeting show Potty alongside senior Congress leaders, and images appear to show him handing over or tying something on Sonia Gandhi's wrist.

Other leaders, including MP Anto Antony, another accused in the gold theft case, Govardhan, and Prakash himself, were also present.

Following Prakash's statement, CPI(M) state secretary Govindan said the UDF had no answers to key questions regarding the meeting.

He demanded that the UDF clarify under whose leadership the meeting took place, what transpired, and why it was held.

Govindan alleged that the UDF was trying to hide details and said some photographs of the Chief Minister circulating online were AI-generated.

The debate comes after Chief Minister Vijayan on Wednesday questioned opposition leaders V D Satheesan and former Home Minister Ramesh Chennithala over their claims about Potty's alleged closeness to the government.

Vijayan had said his government had not given the accused any personal access and dismissed attempts to link it to the case as politically motivated.

He had assured that the investigation into the Sabarimala gold case would continue independently and anyone found responsible would face the law.

Turning the focus back on the opposition, Vijayan had referred to photographs that have surfaced showing Potty, who has been arrested in the gold theft case, and Govardhan, a trader from Bellary, meeting Sonia Gandhi.

In one photograph, Gandhi is seen receiving a gift from Govardhan, while in another, Potty is seen handing over or tying something on her hand. Vijayan had noted that the meeting took place at her residence and was not a casual public interaction.

Vijayan said this at a press conference, questioning Leader of the Opposition V D Satheesan and former Home Minister Ramesh Chennithala over their allegations targeting him in the Sabarimala gold theft case.

He rejected claims that the accused, Potty and others, had any personal access to him and instead pointed to unanswered questions involving senior Congress leaders. PTI TGB ROH