Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan has hit out at former Congress President Sonia Gandhi over the Sabarimala gold and idol smuggling controversy, claiming links between the senior leader and Rajya Sabha MP and two accused - Unnikrishnan Potti and Govardhan, the owner of a jewellery firm.
The CPM leader - whose Left Democratic Front alliance faces a stern test from the Congress-led United Democratic Front in the next year's Kerala election - pointed to a photograph of Govardhan receiving a gift from Sonia Gandhi and another of Potti with Sonia Gandhi.
In a sharp swipe, Vijayan referred to senior politicians like Himanta Biswa Sarma - who jumped from the Congress to the BJP in 2015, after disagreements with the former's central leadership - and claimed many were disgruntled after being stopped from meeting Sonia Gandhi.
"Sonia Gandhi didn't even give an appointment to former Kerala Chief Minister K Karunakaran... but Unnikrishnan Potti got? Himanta Biswa Sarma left as he could not get an appointment," he asked in response to a question by NDTV.
"Sonia Gandhi is someone who has high levels of security. Even Congress leaders know how difficult it is to get an appointment with her. So how did the accused get an appointment?"
The CPM leader's broadside against the Congress was matched by the Bharatiya Janata Party's twin attack on both its rivals; the BJP's state unit boss, Rajeev Chandrasekhar demanded a federal probe - by the Central Bureau of Investigation - into the entire incident and alleged a larger political conspiracy involving both the Congress-led UDF and the CPIM-led LDF.
"As I said earlier.... arresting a few individuals is not enough. This is a larger political conspiracy - started under the Congress' United Democratic Front and perfected under the CPM-LDF."
He also accused Vijayan of 'attempting to downplay' the issue by calling it a 'slip-up'.
The famous Ayyappa temple in Sabarimala has been at the centre of a huge political controversy over the loss of several kilograms of gold. A special team is investigating the case and several persons, including two presidents of the Travancore Devaswom Board, which manages the temple, have been arrested in this regard.
Recently, the SIT told a court that Pankaj Bhandari of Smart Creations and Ballari-based jeweller Govardhan played a key role in the conspiracy to steal gold from temple artefacts.
Meanwhile, Vijayan also hit out at the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh, the ideological mentor of the BJP, over reports of violence against the celebration of Christmas in the state.
"There were also reports of pressure and threats from RSS-affiliated organisations against celebration of Christmas in some private schools. Some schools cancelled celebrations and refunded the money collected from students," the Chief Minister said.
"The government has ordered an urgent probe into these incidents and warned of strict action against those who obstruct celebrations and against schools indulging in religious discrimination. The rise of such forces in Kerala is a matter of serious concern."
