Gold ‘theft’ row: BJP kicks off day-and-night protest in front of Secretariat

The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has kicked off a day-and-night protest in front of the Secretariat over the gold ‘theft’ controversy at the Sabarimala Ayyappa temple on Friday. Senior party leaders are leading the protests which began around 7 p.m.

BJP State president Rajeev Chandrasekhar, speaking to the media, slammed Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan’s stand on the issue. The theft of gold from a temple as important as Sabarimala cannot be viewed a trivial issue, he said.

Senior BJP leader and former State president P.K. Krishnadas said the Left Democratic Front (LDF) government was an insult to the country. The precise volume of gold stolen from the temple has not yet been ascertained. The government has no right to continue in power, Mr. Krishnadas said.

Former BJP State president Kummanam Rajasekharan also demanded that the LDF government relinquish power and apologise to the people.

BJP leaders including M.T. Ramesh, Shobha Surendran, Anoop Antony, and S. Suresh were present. Mr. Chandrasekhar will formally inaugurate the protest at 11 a.m. on Saturday.