Opposition links Sabarimala gold missing row to women's entry controversy to ...
Kerala’s opposition demands the resignation of the State Devaswom Minister V.N. Vasavan and the Travancore Devaswom Board (TDB) President over the Sabarimala missing gold plating controversy. Opposition Leader V.D. Satheeshan has called on the government and the Devaswom Board to clarify how much of the 30 kilograms of gold donated to Sabarimala in 1998 by UB Group chairman Vijay Mallya still remains.What is the Sabarimala gold theft row?
The Dwarapalaka idols and pedestals were gold-plated in 1999 using a portion of the gold and copper donated by industrialist Vijay Mallya. According to the TDB Sub-Group Manual, repair work on these idols was to be carried out at Sabarimala itself. However, in 2019, the plates were handed over to a sponsor named Unnikrishnan Potty for re-plating. The 2019 mahazars (inventories), however, listed the items merely as “copper plates”, omitting any mention of gold cladding.
During recent court proceedings, these documents resurfaced, revealing that the plates weighed 42.8 kg in 2019 (including gold cladding) but, upon return, showed a shortfall of 4.54 kg of gold — raising suspicions of misappropriation.
Notably, when the controversy first erupted, the TDB’s positioning was in such a way as to direct suspicion towards the Potty. TDB President P.S. Prashanth and Devaswom Minister V.N. Vasavan accused Potty of a "conspiracy" and the opposition of politicising the issue to undermine TDB, shifting focus from board lapses.
However, as the controversy deepened, Advocate K.B. Pradeep, representing Smart Creations — the Chennai-based firm where the re-plating took place in 2019 — stated that the Dwarapalaka plate sent to the company that year was not gold-plated but entirely made of copper.
Unnikrishnan Potty also claimed that the material he had received from Sabarimala for gold-plating in 2019 was only copper, further redirecting suspicion toward the handling of the gold by TDB officials.
Opposition's reaction to the LDF government
The Opposition Leader demanded that cases be filed against the current Devaswom Minister, former minister Kadakampally Surendran, and the two Devaswom Board Presidents who have served since 2019. “The CBI must investigate the missing gold. If the government refuses, the UDF will launch strong protests,” he declared.
“The Devaswom Board has written records showing that gold was missing, but they concealed it. The question remains — where did the gold go? Despite finding that a serious crime had been committed, they covered it up without informing anyone. They even invited the same person again in 2025 to send the artefacts for gold-plating, because those in top positions in the Board received a share of the stolen gold. It was a collusive deal,” Satheeshan alleged.
Travancore Devaswom Board President P.S. Prasanth maintained that there was “no lapse in taking the gold plate to Chennai.” He stated that the 40-year repair warranty was in the name of Unnikrishnan Potty, which was why his assistance was sought. “We have nothing to hide. It is precisely because we have nothing to conceal that we ourselves requested a comprehensive court investigation,”he said.
Notably, the UDF is attempting to link the current controversy to the 2018–2019 Sabarimala women’s entry issue.
The LDF's handling of Sabarimala's women entry verdict
In 2018, when the Supreme Court allowed women of menstruating age to enter Sabarimala — a temple that traditionally barred them — the LDF government swiftly enforced the verdict, even providing police protection. This triggered widespread protests, and the government eventually backed down from active enforcement.
Last month, when the Kerala government, in association with the Travancore Devaswom Board, organized the Global Ayyappa Sangamam, critics viewed it as an attempt at reparation for the LDF’s controversial handling of the 2018–2019 women’s entry row.
The UDF described the event as hypocrisy, accusing the LDF of betraying Ayyappa devotees in 2018–19. Veteran Congress leader Ramesh Chennithala also linked the current missing gold controversy to that earlier phase.
“For the last nine and a half years, those who led the Devaswom administration in Kerala — both Devaswom Board presidents and ministers — were either untouched by devotion or hypocritical devotees. That is why such acts — looting even the offerings placed before the Lord in the sacred Sabarimala temple — have taken place. They have deceived the community of believers, violated ritual sanctity, and are now plundering everything,” he said.
Chennithala added that the biggest fraud in Sabarimala’s history had taken place under the Pinarayi Vijayan government. “It is clear that the Devaswom Minister has no moral or administrative right to continue in office. Out of respect for the anguish and outrage of millions of Ayyappa devotees around the world, Minister Vasavan must resign immediately,” he said.
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