Thiruvananthapuram, Nov 10 The Congress will hold a Secretariat march and dharna on November 12, demanding the arrest of all those involved in the Sabarimala gold theft case and the resignation of the State Devaswom Minister V.N. Vasavan.
So far even though four arrests have been made, three are attached to the Devaswom Board and one ‘sponsor; Unnikrishnan, but those named in the two FIRs which includes political personalities have not been touched and that has forced the Congress to take to the streets.
The protest, led by the Kerala Pradesh Congress Committee (KPCC) will be inaugurated by AICC General Secretary and MP K.C. Venugopal.
KPCC president and MLA Sunny Joseph, Leader of Opposition V.D. Satheesan, AICC General Secretary Deepa Dasmunshi, Congress Working Committee members, former KPCC presidents, KPCC working presidents, Political Affairs Committee members, office-bearers, MPs, and MLAs will take part in the agitation.
The Congress leadership said the protest aims to highlight what it describes as the Left government’s failure to ensure accountability in the gold theft case that has rocked the Sabarimala temple administration.
The party has alleged that the probe into the theft of sacred gold from the Travancore Devaswom Board’s custody has been deliberately slowed down to shield influential persons.
Preparations for the demonstration were reviewed on Monday by Joseph and Dasmunshi at the party headquarters.
Senior KPCC functionaries from the Thiruvananthapuram district also attended the review meeting.
The Congress has been staging statewide protests over the Sabarimala gold theft case, accusing the CPI(M)-led government of trying to suppress the findings of the Special Investigation Team (SIT).
The High Court’s recent observation describing the theft as an “international-level gold heist” has further sharpened the Opposition’s attack on the government.
The KPCC has stated that it will intensify the agitation if the government fails to act swiftly on the findings and hold the culprits accountable, reiterating that the issue has shaken public confidence in the temple administration and the Devaswom Board’s integrity.
Incidentally the Congress has already started using this as their main local body poll campaign as Kerala goes to the polls on December 8 and 11.
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