"Cannot be left to Kerala govt to manage Sabarimala": BJP's Rajeev Chandrasekhar calls for Centre's intervention amid gold theft row

Thiruvananthapuram (Kerala) [India], November 7 (ANI): Bharatiya Janata Party's (BJP) Kerala president Rajeev Chandrasekhar on Friday hit out at the Pinarayi Vijayan-led state government, claiming that with the ongoing Sabarimala gold theft probe has shown that the temple cannot be managed by the Kerala government.

"A realisation is creeping in all our minds, it cannot be left anymore to the Kerala government to manage Sabarimala. Telangana, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Maharashtra, people from all over the country and world worship at Sabarimala and we do not feel confident Vasavan or Chief Minister Vijayan in managing Sabarimala," the BJP leader told reporters here.
He further called for the Central government's intervention in the case, urging the Centre to "eventually take over" the functioning of Sabarimala, saying that it can be done since temples comes under the concurrent list.
"This signature campaign is aimed at saying that the government of India must initiate and intervene in the goings on of Sabarimala. If possible, under the law, begin to take oversight of Sabarimala, and if possible, take over the functioning of Sabarimala. The devotees of Sabarimala have more confidence in Modi ji in managing Sabarimala," he said.
Reiterating the call for a Central agency's investigation into the case, the BJP leader also called for a Cag audit into the past 2 decades of records of the Devaswom Board, which manages the temple.
"Our position has been consistent from day one. We have maintained that this is not a slip up as the Chief Minister has wants us to believe, it is a crime. This is just a tip of the ice berg, 4.5 kg of gold going missing from a very sacred temple of Sabarimla is not some minor misdemeanor it is a crime against the believers. We have maintained that it has be investigated by a central agency, and the CAG should look at the last 20 years of records of the Devaswom Board," he added.
The BJP leader's comments come just a few hours after the Special Investigation Team (SIT) of the Kerala Crime Branch arrested former Thiruvabharanam temple Commissioner KS Baiju in the Sabarimala gold theft case. KS Baiju will be produced before the court today.
The Sabarimala gold controversy involves alleged irregularities concerning the gold plating work at the Sabarimala temple. This situation arose from a donation of 30.3 kilograms of gold and 1,900 kilograms of copper by industrialist Vijay Mallya in 1998, intended for cladding the sanctum sanctorum and wooden carvings of the Sabarimala Ayyappa temple in Kerala. (ANI)