Malappurram Feb 14 (IANS) Launching a scathing attack on the Kerala government, Leader of the Opposition in Kerala Assembly V. D. Satheesan on Saturday alleged that the Global Ayyappa Meet held last year at Pampa was “a continuation of the Sabarimala gold heist”, and demanded a comprehensive probe into what he described as a multi-crore fraud.

Satheesan claimed that despite repeated directions from the High Court to maintain transparent accounts, large-scale irregularities had surfaced in the conduct of the event near Sabarimala.

“When the scam came to light, Devaswom Minister V.N.Vasavan attempted to wash his hands of it. Those who put up giant flex boards of the Chief Minister and carried out extensive PR work to extract political mileage from the Ayyappa meet are now nowhere to be seen,” he said.

The Opposition leader alleged that crores were siphoned off in the name of providing food and accommodation to non-existent participants.

“Were all attendees housed in five-star hotels? Was five-star food served?” he asked, questioning inflated bills, including charges for musical events.

He asserted that the government could not evade responsibility since the Devaswom Board functions under its authority and its president and members were government appointees.

Satheesan further claimed that accounts submitted in the Assembly by Minister K. Radhakrishnan contradicted figures presented before the High Court.

He cited court observations pointing to discrepancies, including lack of tenders for construction works, unverified cabling bills, missing beds out of 180 listed, unaccounted GST issues and sponsorship collections without proper records.

“The High Court itself noted that the accounts do not tally. False statements were submitted to mislead the court,” he alleged.

He also questioned the overt political branding of the event, saying flex boards displayed images of Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan larger than that of Lord Ayyappa.

“If the government has no responsibility, why was it projected as a flagship initiative?” he asked, adding that the event was aimed at politically capitalising on devotees’ sentiments.

Linking the controversy to previous allegations of gold theft at Sabarimala in 2019 and 2024, Satheesan demanded that those responsible be brought before the law.

“Every rupee collected in the name of Ayyappa must be accounted for,” he said, expressing confidence that the High Court would order a thorough investigation into the alleged fraud.

–IANS

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