The Congress has accused the LDF government of going easy on former Devaswom Minister Kadakampally Surendran in the Sabarimala gold theft case. KPCC president Sunny Joseph alleged that there was a deliberate delay in questioning Kadakampally and former Travancore Devaswom Board (TDB) president P S Prasanth, claiming the government exerted pressure on the Special Investigation Team (SIT) to avoid questioning them ahead of the local body elections.
Sunny Joseph said it was highly objectionable that the government continued to protect those accused in the case. He pointed out that the SIT has failed to recover the stolen gold and made little headway despite the Kerala High Court expressing dissatisfaction over the slow progress of the probe and its inability to reach senior officials. He demanded that the government disclose who directed the SIT to keep the questioning of the former minister confidential.
Former KPCC president K Muralidharan also criticised the secrecy surrounding Kadakampally’s questioning. Drawing a comparison with the past, he recalled the extensive media presence when former Chief Minister K Karunakaran was questioned by the vigilance wing in a disproportionate assets case, and questioned why similar transparency was denied in the present case.
