Congress-led UDF Opposition MLAs in Kerala held a protest outside the State Legislative Assembly on Thursday over the alleged theft of gold from the Sabarimala Ayyappa Temple. The case involves claims of gold being stolen from the Dwarapalaka idol plates and missing gold from the Sreekovil doorframes. The Opposition has been persistently targeting the CPI(M)-led LDF government, alleging the involvement of CPI(M) leaders in the case.

On Wednesday, Leader of the Opposition VD Satheesan rejected accusations that Opposition MLAs attacked watch-and-ward staff during the Assembly uproar. He termed the Chief Minister’s statements in the House as false and misleading, and asserted that the Opposition would continue its protests over the Sabarimala gold issue throughout the ongoing Assembly session. Satheesan said the claim of violence was untrue and argued that protesting with banners inside the Assembly was not unprecedented.

Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan criticised the Opposition for allegedly trying to disrupt Assembly proceedings and called on the House to condemn their actions. Tensions escalated in the Assembly when UDF MLAs raised slogans and attempted to enter the Speaker’s chamber, protesting what they described as interference by the Chief Minister’s Office in the SIT investigation into the case. Opposition leaders, including Congress MLA Anwar Sadat, were restrained by watch-and-ward staff as the situation intensified, following which Speaker AN Shamseer left the chamber.