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Thiruvananthapuram, Oct 21 (IANS) Congress general secretary and Alappuzha MP KC Venugopal on Tuesday demanded the immediate resignation of Devaswom minister VN Vasavan and Travancore Devaswom board members after the Kerala High Court’s interim order pointing to a possible criminal conspiracy in the Sabarimala gold plating case.
The court’s interim order on Tuesday came after the SIT appointed by it made its first presentation in the investigation.
The SIT has now registered two FIRs, naming 10 people as accused and has so far arrested the ‘sponsor’ Unnikrishnan Potti.
Venugopal said the court’s observations clearly indicate that the present Devaswom board deliberately concealed the 2019 gold theft at the Sabarimala temple and yet, in 2025, entrusted Potti with the task of plating gold on the Dwarapalaka gold plates.
The High Court had noted this as a suspicious act, he said, raising questions of collusion at the highest level.
“The court has clearly observed that there was a criminal conspiracy behind the Sabarimala gold loot,” Venugopal said.
He said, “This also confirms that the theft took place with the tacit consent of the Devaswom Board. Just as the records were tampered with in the gold plating project in 2019, the same has been tampered with again in 2025. Under the circumstances, neither the Minister nor the present Board has any moral or administrative right to continue in office.”
Describing the episode as an “organized looting campaign”, Venugopal alleged that both the board and the state government created conditions that made misappropriation possible. “This is not limited to a few guilty officials. The entire system is involved. No one should think that they can get away with blaming the previous board alone,” he said.
Pointing out that the High Court itself has exposed serious irregularities, the Congress leader said those in power should act responsibly.
“If the minister and the board have even the slightest shame, they should resign. Otherwise, if they continue to defend wrongdoing with hollow arguments, the Congress will be forced to launch a massive public agitation,” he warned.
–IANS
SG/VD