Congress to continue protest until TDB chief Vasu's godfathers are arrested in Sabarimala gold heist: Venugopal

Thiruvananthapuram, Nov 12 (IANS) The Congress will continue its agitation until all those involved in the Sabarimala gold heist, including the “godfathers” of former Travancore Devaswom Board (TDB) president N. Vasu, are brought before the law, AICC general secretary K.C. Venugopal said here on Wednesday.

He was inaugurating the KPCC protest in front of the Kerala Secretariat demanding the arrest of all accused and the resignation of the Devaswom Minister and CPI-M leader V.N. Vasavan.

Venugopal alleged that Vasu, who had earlier contested and won as a CPI-M candidate for the panchayat presidency, was now being portrayed by the party as a mere official.

“From 2019 to 2025, successive Devaswom Boards systematically looted temple wealth. While gold revered by Ayyappa devotees was plundered from Sabarimala, Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan and Devaswom Minister have remained silent. Nothing happens without Pinarayi Vijayan’s knowledge,” he charged.

Accusing the government of treating the Devaswom Board as a political enterprise, Venugopal said the approach had enabled gold smuggling with international links — an issue brought to light only because of the High Court’s intervention.

He said the government that once challenged devotees over women’s entry into Sabarimala had now “plundered Ayyappa’s wealth” by filling temple boards with party loyalists.

Venugopal warned that the Congress would resist every assault on faith and accused the government of trying to restrain the Special Investigation Team working under court supervision.

“When one faith is attacked, others are endangered too. The Congress will not dilute its stance, whether on Sabarimala, Waqf, or attacks on Christian institutions,” he said.

Targeting the BJP, Venugopal said the party’s leaders had maintained “conspicuous silence” on the heist due to their tacit deal with the CPI-M.

“For the BJP, faith and gods are electoral tools. For the Congress, they are symbols of unity and harmony,” he added.

Presiding over the protest, KPCC president and MLA Sunny Joseph alleged that the government had attempted to bury the case and protect the culprits.

Senior leaders including Ramesh Chennithala, Deepa Dasmunshi, Kodikunnil Suresh, M.M. Hassan, and K. Muraleedharan participated in the protest.

--IANS

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