CPM State Secretary M V Govindan, on Sunday, termed tantri Kandararu Rajeevaru as one among the "thieves" accused in Sabarimala gold theft.

Govindan was responding to questions from the media about the allegations of a conspiracy against tantri. 

"Tantri is included among the group of theives," he said. While making that remark againt tantri, Govindan may have also referred to the list of accused in the gold scam case which also includes CPM leaders like A Padmakumar and N Vasu.

The Kollam Vigilance court recently granted bail to tantri, observing that there is not even an iota of evidence from the SIT to establish any positive involvement of tantri in the alleged irregularities. In his bail plea, tantri said that he was being targeted for opposing women's entry to Sabarimala in 2018. Tantri's contentions in the bail plea and the court's observations against the SIT put the state government in a spot of bother as the BJP and the UDF maintained that the state needed to explain why tantri was arraigned as an accused in the gold scam case.

Speaking to the media on Sunday, Govindan reiterated the government's commitment to protecting the temple's gold and ensuring that those responsible for its theft are caught. 

He pointed out how the BJP stood watching when tantri was arrested, despite initially raising their voices to accuse the government. Highlighting that the ED investigations exempted tantri, Govindan said, "It is all political".

He claimed that while the LDF has asserted that no one would be protected, the UDF and BJP are "shamelessly" saying that they will protect the accused. He also rebuked the media for their targeted attacks against the Left, while the BJP and Congress were being let off the hook for their alleged links to the accused.