Thiruvananthapuram, Oct 25 (UNI) The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Friday night launched a round-the-clock siege of the Kerala Secretariat under the leadership of its State President Rajeev Chandrasekhar, protesting against what it described as the “Sabarimala gold heist” and the “deep-rooted corruption” of the CPM-led Pinarayi Vijayan government.
Hundreds of BJP workers from across the state marched to the protest gate of the Secretariat around 7 pm and began their indefinite day-and-night agitation.
Party leaders addressed the gathering, declaring that the protest would continue until the government accepted responsibility for the alleged misappropriation of temple gold. The formal inauguration of the siege will be held at 11 a.m today by Rajeev Chandrasekhar.
Senior BJP leader P. K. Krishnadas, addressing the protesters, said the Pinarayi Vijayan government had brought “shame to Kerala and to the entire nation” by allegedly looting the gold offerings of Lord Ayyappa.
“This is the first government in the world to steal gold meant for a deity. Even now, the authorities have not disclosed how many kilos of gold went missing from Sabarimala. Each day brings new revelations,” he charged.
Krishnadas alleged that the Chief Minister, who “once smuggled gold through biriyani pots using Swapna Suresh,” was now “using temple officials to loot the Sabarimala treasury.”
He claimed that the government was attempting to make lower-level temple staff scapegoats to shield powerful CPM leaders and ministers. “The probe is being misdirected toward priests. It should instead focus on those in power who masterminded the theft,” he said.
Condemning the government’s record on corruption, Krishnadas said that for a decade, the Left administration had looted people’s tax money, flood relief funds, and temple assets.
“Kerala, once known as God’s Own Country, has become a place where even God is not safe. The government’s hostility seems directed solely at Hindus,” he added.
The BJP demanded a CBI investigation into the alleged gold theft and related corruption over the past 30 years, including irregularities during the tenure of former Congress Devaswom Minister VS Sivakumar.
Former BJP State President Kummanam Rajasekharan demanded that all those involved in the scandal be brought to justice. “The government and the Devaswom Board should publicly apologise. The recent global Sabarimala meet was organised only to benefit relatives and cronies,” he alleged.
Despite heavy rain, senior leaders including Rajeev Chandrasekhar, M. T. Ramesh, Shobha Surendran, Anoop Antony, and Adv. S. Suresh led the overnight protest, with hundreds of workers continuing their demonstration in front of the Secretariat through the night.
