The Sree Padmanabhaswamy temple.
Credit: PTI Photo
Thiruvananthapuram: The priceless treasures of the Sree Padmanabhaswamy temple in Thiruvananthapuram and the mysteries over the B-vault have once again come to focus with the Kerala CPI(M) government's representative in the temple governing body citing the need to take a decision on opening the B-vault, which is believed to be treasure trove.
Even as the circumstances in which the state government representative Velappan Nair raising the issue now is still unknown, the fresh development could force the CPI(M) to make clear its stand on the matter.
Nair preferred to be silent on the matter.
It was in 2011 that the priceless treasures of the temple under the erstwhile Travancore Royal family grabbed international attention, especially the precious stones, ornaments, gold and silver vessels, after a team led by former Comptroller and Auditor General Vinod Rai initiated an audit of the items in the six vaults, labeled from A to F, as per Supreme Court directive.
The A and B vaults are close to the sanctum sanctorum. Though the team entered the A vault and took stock of the priceless ornaments and stones, attempts to enter the B vault faced stiff resistance from members of the royal family and a section of devotees. Even as the exact details of the treasures found in the A-vault were not yet revealed, it was estimated to be worth Rs 2 lakh crore.
The mysteries over the B-vault deepened as the Vinod Rai committee reported that the vault could have been opened at least seven times between 1990 and 2002. There were also reports that valuables, including gold, went missing from the vaults.
The reasons cited by the royal family members and others opposing the opening of the B-vault were that it was against customs and beliefs and opening the vault could even affect the temple architecture as it is close to the deity. The vault is believed to have priceless treasures kept as reserve by the erstwhile rulers of Travancore as reserve that could be taken only in case of acute financial crisis, they maintain.
In 2020 the Supreme Court upheld the rights of the Travancore Royal family over the temple and also left a decision on opening the B-vault to the temple authorities.
Citing this, the CPI(M) representative on Thursday cited the need for taking a decision, even as the matter was not being discussed over the last few years.
Even as the CPI(M) is yet to make clear its present stand on the matter, former Chief Minister V S Achuthanandan, who died recently, had earlier taken a strong stand against the Travancore royal family on the matter.
He had even sought a CBI probe into the missing of valuables from the vaults.