Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Sunday demanded that the investigation into the high-profile Sabarimala gold theft case be transferred to a neutral agency, alleging that deliberate loopholes have been introduced to shield the accused. Addressing newly elected BJP local body members in Kerala, he questioned whether those responsible for safeguarding the temple's assets can be trusted to protect the faith of millions of devotees nationwide.

Launching the BJP’s ‘Mission 2026’ assembly election campaign, Shah asserted that only the NDA can deliver true development to Kerala while protecting it from communal politics and preserving local beliefs and traditions. He highlighted the party’s consistent rise in vote share—from 11% in 2014 to 16% in 2019 and 20% in 2024—and predicted that the BJP would soon achieve 30-40% support, pointing to recent victories in 30 panchayats as evidence of its growing rural presence.

The Home Minister launched a sharp attack on both the LDF and UDF, accusing them of being unwilling to distance themselves from SDPI, PFI, and Jamaat-e-Islami, which he described as their core vote banks. He argued that only the NDA can rescue Kerala from divisive politics. Shah also criticised both fronts for opposing the abolition of triple talaq, questioning whether Muslim women in the state deserve the right to live peacefully.

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Shah emphasised that Kerala’s economy, heavily dependent on foreign remittances, requires a balanced and sustainable development model similar to the one advanced by Prime Minister Narendra Modi. He pointed to BJP-ruled states such as Bihar, Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, and Rajasthan as examples of transformative governance, stating that the national goal of ‘Viksit Bharat’ can only be realised through a ‘Vikasita Keralam’.

BJP state president Rajeev Chandrasekhar framed the upcoming assembly elections as a direct contest between the NDA and an alliance of Congress, Muslim League, and Jamaat. Shah warned that the BJP would organise statewide protests until a credible, independent agency is appointed to probe the Sabarimala gold theft, underscoring the national significance of the controversy and its impact on public trust in temple administration.

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