CM Pinarayi Vijayan Questions How Sabarimala Gold Case Accused Met Sonia Gandhi?

Thiruvananthapuram: Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan revealed that the main accused in the Sabarimala gold smuggling case have links with Congress leaders. He said the government’s stance has been taken without political bias and that those who committed the crime must be punished. However, Congress has conducted various campaigns for political gain. Many of those arrested in connection with the case have ties to Congress, the Chief Minister said at a press conference.

Among those currently arrested in the gold smuggling case, Unnikrishnan Potti and Govardhan, a trader from Ballari who sold the gold, have been seen in photographs with Sonia Gandhi. In one photograph, Govardhan, one of the accused, is seen presenting a gift to Sonia Gandhi. In another photograph, Unnikrishnan Potti, another accused, is seen handing something to Sonia Gandhi. The photos also show Pattanamthitta MP Anto Antony and Attingal MP Adoor Prakash alongside Sonia Gandhi.

Sonia Gandhi is one of the few people in the country with top-level security. Many Congress leaders have complained about the long delay in securing an appointment with her. Even K Karunakaran, whom Congress leaders called a ‘leader’, had not received an appointment with Sonia Gandhi. Assam Chief Minister and former Congress leader Himanta Biswa Sharma has revealed that when he tried to seek an appointment with the Gandhi family, he eventually joined the BJP after being ignored. Reports had also suggested that the entire Congress legislative group in Arunachal Pradesh switched to the BJP after failing to get an appointment.

The Chief Minister asked how the accused in the gold smuggling case received an appointment with Sonia Gandhi, which even senior Congress leaders could not secure. What kind of relationship do Adoor Prakash and Anto Antony have with Potti and Govardhan, to even bring them to Sonia Gandhi’s residence? How did Potti and Govardhan play key roles in important events at Sabarimala during the UDF administration? The Chief Minister said the Leader of the Opposition and the former Leader of the Opposition should respond to these questions to the public.