THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Even as the row over opening of the B vault of Sree Padmanabhaswamy temple is hotting up following the Travancore royal family moving the Supreme Court opposing the move, the comments of Opposition Leader V S Achuthanandan has sparked a new round of controversy. The Opposition leader had on Saturday alleged that the head of the erstwhile royal family of Travancore Uthradam Thirunal Marthanda Varma smuggled jewels out of the Sree Padmanabhaswamy temple. He had also alleged that the royal family was spreading rumours that tragedy would befall on the state and on those who try to open the B vault . Chief Minister Oommen Chandy, Finance Minister K M Mani, Nair Service Society and Hindu groups have come out against the Opposition Leader for his ‘unwanted’ comments against the royal family. The lone support for V S Achuthanandan came from former Finance Minister and party colleague T M Thomas Isaac who quoted Communist ideology and legacy to support the veteran leader’s stand saying that communists did not have any love for royal kingdoms. Isaac said that it was strange that an erstwhile king could not be criticised and the comments supporting him showed the remnants of the royalty existed even now. Reacting to Achuthanandan’s comments in New Delhi, Chief Minister Oommen Chandy said that the Opposition Leader could have avoided such comments against the royal family. “I am no one to advise him on such issues. But the general mood of people of Kerala is against comments made by him,” he said. KPCC president Ramesh Chennithala criticised the Opposition Leader saying that his remarks did not suit his stature as the Opposition leader. Finance Minister K M Mani opined that all these years, the royal family had been viewed as the protectors of the wealth of the temple and Achuthanandan had forgotten this fact while making an irresponsible statement. The Shiv Sena and BJP have also flayed the Opposition Leader’s remarks and alleged that Achuthanandan’s vested interests might have prompted him to make baseless allegations against the royal family. Shiv Sena activists even took out a march to the residence of Achuthanandan here on Monday demanding withdrawal of his comments. NSS general secretary G Sukumaran Nair said that such statements from Achuthanandan was nothing new, but as the Opposition Leader he should not have made such allegations. Meanwhile, Sree Padmanabhaswamy Temple Employees Union dismissed the comments made by Opposition Leader as false and baseless. Achuthanandan had told mediapersons on Saturday that a former employee of the Sree Padmanabhaswamy temple lost his job after he spoke of the spiriting away of temple wealth.
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