Sabarimala gold plating row: Oppn disrupts Assembly again
THIRUVANANTHAPURAM [Maha Media]: Opposition MLAs in Kerala disrupted Assembly proceedings for a second day on Tuesday, demanding the resignation of state Devaswom minister over alleged irregularities linked to the gold-clad copper plates at the Sabarimala Lord Ayyappa temple.
Though Speaker A N Shamseer initially tried to proceed with the question hour, ignoring the UDF MLAs' uproar, he later suspended it and temporarily stopped the session as the UDF members continued their sloganeering, raising banners and placards in front of his podium.
As soon as the session commenced and Speaker A N Shamseer came to his dais, Leader of Opposition V D Satheesan stood up and raised the High Court's findings in connection with the alleged irregularities.
Stating that the judiciary's findings were "shocking", he said the gold covering of Dwarapalaka idols in Sabarimala had been sold at a high rate, according to the High Court.
Through this, the Travancore Devaswom Board (TDB), the temple body which manages the shrine, has not only disrupted the sanctity of Sabarimala Temple but also cheated lakhs of devotees of Lord Ayyappa, he alleged.
"Therefore, our strong demand is that the Devaswom Minister should resign and the TDB should be dissolved. And the government should announce the decision right now," Satheesan said.
However, Law Minister P Rajeev and Parliamentary Affairs Minister M B Rajesh vehemently criticised the opposition and alleged that their continuing protest was a drama.
