Thiruvananthapuram: The Sabarimala gold scam rocked the Kerala Assembly on Tuesday as the Congress-led UDF opposition staged a protest demanding the resignation of Devaswom Minister VN Vasavan. The House was disrupted for the second consecutive day when UDF MLAs raised placards and banners and shouted slogans against the ruling Left government.

The opposition also accused Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan of “interfering” in the probe by the Special Investigation Team (SIT) into the Sabarimala gold theft cases.

The protest prompted Speaker AN Shamseer to suspend Question Hour and proceed with other business. As soon as Question Hour began, the opposition informed the Speaker that they would not cooperate with the House proceedings due to the government’s stand on the Sabarimala gold loss issue and the arrest of Tantri (chief priest) Kandararu Rajeevaru.

Senior Congress legislator K Babu conveyed the UDF’s stance to the House, as Leader of Opposition VD Satheesan is away on his ongoing ‘Navayuga Yatra’.

After protesting in front of the Speaker’s dais with placards and a banner, the opposition members squatted in the well of the House and continued raising slogans against the ruling front.

The ruling LDF hit back at the opposition, with ministers P Rajeev and MB Rajesh pointing out that the UDF had not moved even a single no-confidence motion against the government in the last five years. They also said the opposition could not cite a single instance of graft against any of the 21 ministers

The ministers further accused the Congress-led opposition of “political bankruptcy” and acting against the interests of the state.

On Monday, the opposition had also staged a protest in the House, flagging the grant of bail to the accused in the Sabarimala gold loss cases and strongly criticising the government over the arrest of the tantri “without any iota of evidence”. The UDF alleged that the main accused had secured bail due to lapses on the part of the government.

The SIT, constituted by the Kerala High Court, is investigating the alleged misappropriation of gold from the Dwarapalaka (guardian deity) idols and the door frames of the Sreekovil (sanctum sanctorum) at Sabarimala.