Kerala polls: Pinarayi hits back at Rahul Gandhi over Sabarimala gold row, questions accused’s link to Sonia Gandhi

Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan on Tuesday (March 31, 2026) hit back at Rahul Gandhi for targeting the ruling CPI(M) over the Sabarimala gold loss case during a poll campaign, questioning how the accused in the case had managed to reach the Congress leader’s “home.”

Mr. Vijayan was apparently referring to a widely circulated purported photograph in which the prime accused in the Sabarimala gold loss cases, Unnikrishnan Potti, accompanied by some senior Congress leaders, was seen with Sonia Gandhi at her residence in Delhi.

He also said “people have already given a reply” to Mr. Gandhi, the Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha, on this matter.

The Chief Minister’s reaction came a day after Mr. Gandhi sang a line from a popular parody song about CPI(M) leaders’ alleged roles in the gold theft at the Sabarimala temple while addressing a corner meeting as part of the Assembly polls campaign in Pathanamthitta district.

As he sang the line “swarnam kattathu aarappa” (who stole the gold of Ayyappa) from a song used by the Congress-led UDF to target the ruling Left during the local body polls a few months ago, at the meeting in Pathanamthitta – the district where the Sabarimala temple is is located – the crowd cheered Mr. Gandhi.

Soon after Mr. Gandhi targeted the Left party over the gold loss issue, CPI(M) activists began a social media campaign making allegations against his mother and former party chief Sonia Gandhi in connection with the matter.

While replying to a question regarding this, Mr. Vijayan said the Congress leader already got a befitting reply.

“If he thinks about how all those who were involved in the stealing had reached his home… then he will get a reply. Anyway, we don’t have any such flaws,” Mr. Vijayan added.

Attacking the Left and the BJP over the Sabarimala gold loss issue, Mr. Gandhi on Monday had said that Prime Minister Narendra Modi had “forgotten” about what happened in Sabarimala, during his visit to Palakkad as part of election campaign.

Mr. Gandhi claimed that the Prime Minister remained silent to avoid damaging the LDF.

He had also said that a UDF government would ensure that those responsible for alleged irregularities related to the temple are punished.