Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan on Tuesday hit back at Rahul Gandhi for targeting the ruling CPI(M) over the Sabarimala gold loss case during an election campaign, questioning how the accused in the case managed to reach the Congress leader’s house.
The veteran Marxist was apparently referring to a widely circulated picture in which the main accused in the Sabarimala gold missing cases, Unnikrishnan Butte, accompanied by some senior Congress leaders, is seen with Sonia Gandhi at her residence in Delhi.
He also said that people have already responded to Rahul, Leader of the Opposition in Lok Sabha, on the matter.
The Prime Minister’s reaction came a day after Rahul sang a line from a popular parody song about the alleged roles of CPI (Maoist) leaders in the gold heist at Sabarimala temple while addressing a corner meeting as part of the assembly election campaign in Pathanamthitta district.
As he sang the phrase “swarnam kattathu aarappa” (Who stole Ayyappa’s gold) from a song used by the Congress-led United Democratic Front to target the ruling Left during the local body polls a few months ago, at the meeting held in Pathanamthitta – the area where Lord Ayyappa’s hill shrine is located – the crowd chanted for Rahul.
Soon after Gandhi targeted the Left Party over the gold loss issue, CPI(M) activists started a social media campaign to make allegations against his mother and former party president Sonia Gandhi regarding the issue.
While responding to a question regarding this matter, CM Vijayan said that the Congress leader has already got a befitting response and he should also reiterate the same.
“If he thinks about how all those involved in the theft reached his house… he will get a response. Anyway, we don’t have any such drawbacks,” Vijayan added.
Attacking the Left and the BJP over the issue of gold loss in Sabarimala, Rahul Gandhi on Monday said that Prime Minister Narendra Modi forgot what happened in Sabarimala, during his visit to Palakkad as part of the election campaign.
Rahul claimed that the Prime Minister remained silent to avoid harming the TDF.
He also said that the United Democratic Front government would ensure that those responsible for the alleged temple-related irregularities are punished.
