Thiruvananthapuram: The controversy surrounding the gold-plating of the Dwarapalaka idols at the entrance of the sanctum sanctorum in the Sabarimala Lord Ayyappa Temple has taken a new turn, with the sponsor of the work, Unnikrishnan Potty, claiming that he was given copper panels, not gold, for the plating.

"The documents clearly prove that I was handed over copper. I only came to know that it was gold-plated after the controversy erupted," Potty told the media on Saturday. 

Placing the Devaswom Board in the dock, he said that it might have been recorded as copper because the gold was lost. He added that he would explain everything in court.

He also said that, if at all there was gold in the panels, it might have been lost during the electroplating process. "The gold can get diluted into the acid during electroplating," he explained. He added that he had handed over the panels for gold-plating to a Chennai-based company, based on the documents, which stated that the material was copper.

Potty further clarified that there was no significant delay in handing over the panels to the company after collecting them from Sabarimala. "There was no delay of 39 days, as claimed. It was delayed only by a weekend. I reside in Bengaluru, and the company was in Chennai. That was the only delay that occurred," he said.

He also said that he had not collected money from anyone for the work. "If anyone can prove otherwise, let them take action," he stated.

Dismissing reports that the Vigilance wing of the Devaswom Board had summoned him for questioning on Saturday, Potty said that no one had contacted him. He further added that he is willing to appear before the investigation team whenever summoned.

When asked about the complaint regarding the missing pedestal of the Dwarapalaka idols, Unnikrishnan Potty clarified that he had not filed any such complaint. "It was my assistant Vasudevan who said the pedestal had faded in colour. I never filed a complaint stating that the pedestal was missing. Vasudevan sent the email on my behalf. There was no response from the Devaswom Board to that email. It was Vasudevan who informed the officials that the pedestal was in our possession. The matter was kept under wraps to protect Vasudevan," Potty said.