Thiruvananthapuram: Days after the Congress leadership questioned BJP’s silence over the Sabarimala gold scam, the saffron party leadership in Kerala has demanded Devaswom Minister VN Vasavan’s resignation. BJP state president Rajeev Chandrasekhar on Thursday said that if Vasavan failed to resign over the gold missing row, his party would request the Centre for a probe under the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) or the Directorate of Enforcement (ED). He was addressing Mahila Morcha’s protest march to the state secretariat here on Thursday. Speaking at the protest march inauguration, Rajeev Chandrasekhar also demanded the dissolution of the Travancore Devaswom Board (TDB).

Accusing the ruling CPM of following minority appeasement politics, the former union minister also said that the BJP had already urged the Kerala Governor to seek Vasavan's resignation.

His reaction came when BJP came under fire for its alleged unholy nexus with CPM. Congress alleged that ED skipped action against Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan’s son in a money laundering case related to Life Mission Housing project as part of CPM-BJP deal. It is learnt that BJP will also organise statewide protests over the alleged gold scam.

Mahila Morcha held a protest outside the secretariat after the march reached there. BJP leaders Sobha Surendran and Navya Haridas were at the forefront of the protest march.

The Mahila Morcha activists chanted Lord Ayyappa's name in front of the barricades set up outside the secretariat, reported PTI. Some of them also climbed up the barricades carrying flags of their organisation. Many others sat down on the main road in front of the secretariat, completely blocking both sides of the carriageway, and raised slogans demanding Vasavan's resignation.

The Kerala High Court had earlier ordered an inquiry after noticing a reduction in the weight of gold-clad copper plates on the Dwarapalaka idols in the temple. Last week, the court had directed the state police to register a criminal case over the suspected misappropriation of gold from the side frames or lintels of the shrine and initiate an investigation.