Thiruvananthapuram

Kerala Excise Minister M B Rajesh on Thursday said that Unnikrishnan Potty, the main accused in the Sabarimala gold loss cases, first became associated with the Lord Ayyappa temple in 2004 when Congress general secretary K C Venugopal was the state Devaswom Minister.

That is probably the reason why the Congress was no longer raising the Sabarimala gold loss issue or singing the parody song 'pottiye kettiye' in connection with Potty's entry to the shrine, Rajesh told a TV channel here.

The minister further said that another reason behind the grand old party's alleged silence on the issue was the fact that Potty was able to meet with Congress leader Sonia Gandhi at her residence in Delhi.

"Due to all these reasons, the Congress is no longer talking about the issue or Potty," he said, adding that the prime accused in the Sabarimala gold loss cases has not entered the home of any LDF leader.

Neither the Congress nor Venugopal have responded to the minister's claims.

Bengaluru-based businessman Potty is the main accused in the two cases related to loss of gold from the Dwarapalaka (guardian deity) idols and Sreekovil (sanctum sanctorum) door frames at the temple.

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He is presently in judicial custody.

Besides him, 11 others have been arrested in the cases and they include two former Travancore Devaswom Board (TDB) presidents, two former members of the Board and a tantri (chief priest) of the Lord Ayyappa shrine.