The arrest of a top priest from the famed Sabarimala temple in connection with a major gold theft has plunged Kerala into a fresh political crisis. The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has seized the moment, alleging the action is a deliberate ploy to protect senior leaders from the ruling CPI(M) and the opposition Congress who are implicated in the scandal.
A Sacred Arrest and Political Allegations
The Special Investigation Team (SIT) this week took into custody Kandararu Rajeevaru, the most senior Tantri (priest) of Sabarimala. He was arrested for his alleged role in the misappropriation of gold from temple artefacts back in 2019. Rajeevaru belongs to the revered Thazhamon family, whose members have served as the traditional priests of the hill shrine for generations. His arrest marks a significant turn, as he is the first priest to be held in this case. Previously, arrests were limited to senior officials of the Travancore Devaswom Board, which manages the temple, and leaders from the CPI(M) who had chaired the board.
Following a high-level meeting, BJP state president Rajeev Chandrasekhar launched a sharp attack on the Left government. He claimed the priest's arrest was a tactical move to divert public attention and save two key ministers. "It is meant to divert attention. The board has the responsibility to protect the wealth of the Sabarimala temple, and the Tantri looks after the rituals," Chandrasekhar stated. He questioned why political figures like former devaswom minister Kadakampally Surendran (CPI-M) and current minister V N Vasavan faced only questioning while the priest was arrested. He framed the action as the government's attempt to recover from its recent setbacks in the local body elections.
BJP's Counter-Offensive and Planned Agitation
The BJP is not stopping at rhetoric. The party has announced it will stage a protest on January 14, which coincides with Makar Sankranti, the most auspicious day of Sabarimala's annual festival. In a symbolic move, the party has urged devotees to light the traditional 'makara jyothi' lamp in their homes as a mark of protest against the arrest.
To bolster its allegations of a high-level cover-up, the BJP displayed photographs purportedly showing Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan and Congress leader Sonia Gandhi with Unnikrishnan Potty, the key accused in the gold smuggling case. "The probe has turned into a farce to salvage the real culprits. There is a concerted conspiracy to protect the politicians," Chandrasekhar alleged. The BJP's strategy appears to be gaining traction, especially after revelations about Potty's alleged visit to Sonia Gandhi in the presence of two Kerala Congress MPs, which has blunted the Congress's own attacks on the CPI(M) government over the scandal.
Diverging Reactions and a Silent Hindu Outfit
The arrest has evoked strong emotional responses from right-wing quarters. BJP leaders visited the priest's ancestral home in Alappuzha, a place held in deep reverence by devotees as it is considered the earthly abode of Lord Ayyappa. Sangh Parivar affiliates, like the Hindu Aikyavedi, expressed shock, with its state president R V Babu stating that while the guilty must be punished, the priest's arrest seemed designed specifically to "save the CPM".
However, in a notable departure from the massive 2018 protests over women's entry into Sabarimala, prominent Hindu social organizations like the Nair Service Society (NSS) and the SNDP Yogam have remained conspicuously absent from any agitation concerning the gold scandal. Both groups have tactically extended support to the government's investigative actions at the temple, indicating a complex political and communal calculus at play.
As Makar Sankranti approaches, the gold scandal has successfully been reignited as a potent political weapon. The BJP aims to galvanize Hindu sentiment against the LDF government, while the CPI(M) and Congress find themselves awkwardly positioned, each trying to deflect blame onto the other in a high-stakes battle for credibility.
