Key Points

"The idol was sold to a billionaire, the doors and wooden steps were removed, and only the Ayyappa idol remains. Their plan was to remove that too," the Opposition leader charged on Wednesday.

The accusations came amid a heated standoff in the Kerala Assembly, where Opposition leaders accused Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan of deliberately provoking the Opposition and shielding those involved in the alleged looting of temple property.

They claimed that the Chief Minister, who had remained silent on the controversy for months, finally spoke in a manner that "favoured the looters".

The row revolves around allegations that the temple's Dwarapalaka idol was sold to a billionaire and that gold plating on the idol was chemically stripped and replaced with copper.

Opposition leaders demanded transparency and accountability, including the resignation of the Devaswom Minister V. N. Vasavan and the dismissal of the Devaswom Board.

The protest, which has paralysed Assembly proceedings for three consecutive days, escalated on Wednesday.

"The Chief Minister's failure to act against those who allegedly looted temple property is unacceptable. We will take this fight forward with even greater intensity," the Opposition said, underscoring the political and religious sensitivity of the matter.

Later, Satheesan slammed CM Vijayan for mention of a short statured person in his speech.

"Does the Chief Minister have a grudge against people of short stature? Why target shorter individuals?

The Opposition described this as body shaming and politically incorrect.

They demanded that the Chief Minister withdraw the remark, issue an apology, and have the comment removed from Assembly records.

Such remarks, the Opposition noted, have been repeatedly made by Vasavan.

Taking a dig at the grand old party, Vasvan said that the Congress, which was once as tall as Bollywood actor Amitabh Bachchan, has now become the size of Mollywood actor Indrans.

"Indrans, however, is a respected actor. Vasavan later withdrew his comment and apologised. Similarly, the Opposition said the Chief Minister must apologise for ridiculing short stature," said Satheesan.

"Parliamentary Affairs Minister M.B. Rajesh had also commented on Congress MLA Uma Thomas. Rajesh said that Uma Thomas was being used as a shield by the UDF. The Opposition demanded that those remarks be withdrawn. They insisted that neither the Chief Minister nor the Parliamentary Affairs Minister should have made such statements about Uma Thomas' health," he said.

The Opposition further criticised these comments as outdated and regressive, questioning what century these leaders are living in.

"Those who claim to be progressive are making such statements today. Does the Chief Minister have a measuring scale for how tall a person should be? These incidents can happen to anyone. It seems these leaders belong in 19th-century Spain," added Satheesan.

- IANS