Kerala LoP hits back at former minister over Sabarimala idol row, vows legal fight

Thiruvananthapuram, Oct 9 V. D. Satheesan, Leader of the Opposition in Kerala, on Thursday said he would legally respond to the lawyer’s notice served on him by former Devaswom Minister and CPI-M legislator Kadakampally Surendran over his remarks on the alleged sale of the Ayyappa temple Dwarapalaka idol.

Surendran has asked Satheesan to publicly apologise for his remarks; if not, he will have to face a defamation case to the tune of Rs 2 crores.

Satheesan reiterated that his statements were based on observations recorded by the Kerala High Court.

“It was the High Court which concluded that the original Dwarapalaka idol was sold,” said Satheesan.

The Opposition leader pointed out that even the present Devaswom Minister and the Devaswom Board President had publicly stated that the irregularities occurred in 2019.

“That was when Kadakampally was the Minister. He had full responsibility over the matter,” added Satheesan.

Questioning why no action was taken against Unnikrishnan Potti, Satheesan said, “If Potti alone is responsible, why wasn’t a case registered against him? If that happens, Kadakampally and others will also be implicated. That is why the case was buried.”

Citing the High Court verdict, Satheesan claimed that the government and the Devaswom Board were aware of the loss since 2022 but chose to keep it under wraps.

“The court order makes everything clear. The authorities were forced to act only after the matter came before the court. Had the court not intervened, even the Ayyappa golden idol might have been lost,” he said.

Satheesan accused the government and the Devaswom Board of lacking any credible defence.

“This is not a stray theft, it’s an organised cover-up,” he said, asserting that the Opposition would continue to raise the issue both legally and politically.

The assembly for the past four days saw angry protests by the Opposition, and on each day, it was chaotic scenes with both the treasury and opposition benches engaged in a war of words and on many occasions, things had gone out of control.

On Thursday, the Speaker A.N. Shamseer suspended three Congress legislators for indiscipline, and even though the penultimate session of this Assembly was to have had its last sitting on Friday, following the continued protests, the Speaker adjourned the house sine die on Thursday.

--IANS

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