The arrest of former TDB president and Communist Party of India (Marxist) (CPI(M)) leader A. Padmkaumara in the Sabarimala gold theft case has seemingly left the ruling Left Democratic Front (LDF) government vulnerable to potentially damaging criticism from opposition parties.
The “fall” from public favor of Mr Padmakumar, a former MLA who led the TDB during the turbulent days of the Save Sabarimala campaign, provided material for the Congress and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) to accuse the government of misplacing the trust of Ayyappa devotees.
Notably, the Congress and the BJP sought to push the arrest of Mr. Padmakumar and erstwhile Devaswom Commissioner N. Vasu, both political appointees of the CPI(M), at the top of their election rhetoric in a spirited campaign for the December local polls.
Leader of the Opposition VD Satheesan said responsibility for the crime did not end with Mr Padmakumar or Mr Vasu.
Mr Satheesan said the SIT had only uncovered the tip of the iceberg. “The government kept the 2019 theft under wraps for six years to protect CPI(M) leaders, including two successive Devaswom ministers. A long line of CPI(M) leaders and their accomplices are heading to jail for betraying Ayyappa’s loyalists. Unnikrishnan Potti, the prime accused in the case, is only the CPIMTD’s disposition in 2025 openly rejected the warning red flags raised vigilance wing of TDB and instructed Mr. Potti to renovate the panels,” he added.
Senior Congress leader Ramesh Chennithala and All India Congress Committee (Organisation) General Secretary KC Venugopal blamed Devaswom Minister VN Vasavan and his predecessor Kadakampally Surendra for the fiasco.
BJP state president Rajeev Chandrasekhar said the theft of temple treasures was with the tacit approval of the state’s top political leader.
Mr. Vasavan said any comment on the ongoing investigation was subservient to the court and a violation of the High Court’s gag order. Mr. Surendran said the government has no direct influence on the TDB, an independent body with statutory powers. He said he was a victim of a smear campaign led by the Congress and the BJP.
CPI(M) state secretary MV Govindan said that arrest or charge does not mean guilt. He said the government will not protect any person found guilty through due process of law. He blamed the media for jumping the gun and assigning blame prematurely.
Published – 20 Nov 2025 21:18 IST
