Thiruvananthapuram (Kerala) [India], January 25 : CPI(M) State Secretary MV Govindan launched a sharp attack on the Congress over the Sabarimala gold theft case, alleging that the narrative changed after the involvement of Congress leaders came to light.
"The media has lost its old enthusiasm because the involvement of Congress leaders has come out. The media no longer has any weapon. There is no answer to why Unnikrishnan potty along with Adoor Prakash MP, went to meet Sonia Gandhi. The person who stole the gold and the one who sold it both went to meet Sonia Gandhi," Govindan claimed.
Referring to Rahul Gandhi, Govindan said the Congress leader himself had taken the position that raising the issue of gold theft was inappropriate. He also addressed criticism over the delay in filing the charge sheet, stating that the delay was due to the expansion of the investigation's scope, and accused Opposition leader VD Satheeshan of criticising the process without understanding it.
"Once the priest was arrested, even the BJP fell silent. It has now become clear that it was not the Left but the Congress that brought Unnikrishnan Potti into the picture," he said. He further said that although the Opposition had the right to raise in the Assembly, it avoided discussion after releasing that the debate would involve Sonia Gandhi and other Congress leaders, accusing them of backing out to avoid scrutiny. "They fled because they understood that they would end up in the dock," he added.
Meanwhile, Kollam Vigilance Court on Friday granted statutory bail to former Travancore Devaswom Board (TDB) administrative officer Murari Babu in two cases related to the alleged gold loss at the Sabarimala temple.
The court granted bail after 90 days had elapsed since his arrest, and the Special Investigation Team (SIT) failed to file charge sheets within the stipulated period. Murari Babu is the second accused in the case concerning the alleged loss of gold from the Dwarapalaka (guardian deity) idol plates, and the sixth accused in the case related to the alleged loss of gold from the Sreekovil (sanctum sanctorum) doorframes.
He is currently lodged at the Special Sub Jail in Thiruvananthapuram and is expected to be released by Friday evening. He will be the first accused arrested in the Sabarimala gold loss cases to be released from jail.
Murari Babu was arrested in October last year on charges of conspiracy, after allegedly forwarding a proposal to electroplate the Dwarapalaka idols and Sreekovil doorframes to the TDB, as suggested by the prime accused, Unnikrishnan Potti.
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