"Kerala CM's statement is absurd": Congress' Ramesh Chennithala on Pinarayi Vijayan's remarks on Sonia Gandhi in Sabarimala case

Wayanad (Kerala) [India], January 4 (ANI): Congress MLA Ramesh Chennithala on Sunday said that the Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan's allegations about Congress senior leader Sonia Gandhi's involvement in the Sabarimala gold theft case is "absurd" and reiterated Communist Party of India (Marxist) involvement in the case.
Congress MLA Ramesh Chennithala also raised a question over the lack of action against its own leaders.
Speaking with ANI, Ramesh Chennithala said, "The Kerala Chief Minister's statement on the gold theft case in Sabarimala is absurd. The three leaders of CPM are in jail. How can he say that this is a politically motivated thing?... The CPM party has not taken any action for the people who are in prison."
Chennithala further demanded a Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) probe into the theft case.
"This shows that they are involved in this case and the political patronage given by the CPM and the state government is very evident...We demand that the CBI enquire into the whole issue so that more people can be arrested and brought before the law," he said.
This comes after CPM leaders, including Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan, raised questions over Congress leader Sonia Gandhi's meeting with prime accused Unnikrishnan Potti and demanded an investigation into the matter.
Vijayan questioned how the prime accused in the Sabarimala theft case, Unnikrishnan Potti, managed to meet Sonia Gandhi, suggesting that the accused has close ties with Congress MP Adoor Prakash.
"At what stage does the name of Adoor Prakash come into this issue? His name surfaced when a photograph emerged. I had referred to this in the previous press conference. The photograph showed Sonia Gandhi along with two others from Pathanamthitta and Adoor Prakash, who was the MP from Pathanamthitta at the time," Vijayan said.
Raising a series of questions, the Chief Minister said, "How did these two individuals manage to reach, at the same time, someone like Sonia Gandhi -- a political leader with the highest level of security in India? The person (Adoor Prakash) who made allegations against the Chief Minister's Office claimed that he had no role and that he went there because he was invited. Is he someone who must go whenever Potti calls? Why should he go to Potti's call? How did all these people come together?"
Kerala Education Minister V Sivankutty said Sonia Gandhi should be brought within the ambit of the investigation as her statement is decisive.
"How did Unnikrishnan Potti gain access to Sonia Gandhi's residence? The relationship between Sonia Gandhi, Adoor Prakash, and Unnikrishnan Potti is shocking. It is crucial that the investigation reaches Sonia Gandhi. The conspiracy must be exposed. Regardless of position, Sonia Gandhi should be brought within the ambit of the investigation. Sonia Gandhi's statement is decisive," V Sivankutty said.
The Sabarimala gold controversy centres on allegations of irregularities in the gold plating at the Sabarimala temple. This situation arose from a 1998 donation of 30.3 kilograms of gold and 1,900 kilograms of copper by industrialist Vijay Mallya, intended for the cladding of the sanctum sanctorum and the wooden carvings of the Sabarimala Ayyappa temple in Kerala.
Unnikrishnan Potti, the prime accused, was reportedly taken into custody by the Special Investigation Team (SIT) on October 17. The SIT, which is investigating the matter, submitted its second report to the Kerala High Court, revealing serious irregularities in the minutes of the Travancore Devaswom Board. (ANI)