Thiruvananthapuram, Oct 6 (IANS) The controversy over the removal of CPI-M’s Palakkad district Secretary E.N. Suresh Babu has intensified with a complaint seeking registration of a criminal case against him over allegations of sexual harassment, while the silence of top party leaders, including Leader of Opposition Pinarayi Vijayan, has come under scrutiny.
State Congress Secretary John Daniel on Tuesday submitted a formal complaint to Chief Minister V.D. Satheesan seeking a case against Suresh Babu.
The complaint also seeks that Vijayan and CPI-M state Secretary M.V. Govindan be made accused, alleging that they were aware of the serious allegations but concealed them and confined the matter to party-level action instead of handing it over to the police.
Daniel said the issue was particularly serious as it concerned the safety of women involved in public life.
He demanded a police investigation and stringent action against Suresh Babu.
The complaint comes amid reports that a young woman lawyer had approached the CPI-M leadership alleging sexual harassment by Suresh Babu.
She is understood to have submitted digital evidence along with her complaint.
The woman has reportedly alleged that Suresh Babu subsequently continued to contact and harass her.
The CPI-M leadership is said to have initially attempted to deal with the complaint internally.
Questions over the issue have mounted because the CPI-M has not officially stated whether the complaint was behind Suresh Babu’s removal as district Secretary.
On Tuesday, Vijayan remained silent when reporters sought his response.
Senior party leaders K.K. Shailaja, E.P. Jayarajan, M.V. Jayarajan, V.N. Vasavan and Thomas Isaac also avoided giving a clear answer when asked about the complaint. Isaac said he did not know what had happened in Palakkad and was concentrating on Pathanamthitta.
Jayarajan, however, defended the party action, saying it was organisational and accusing the media of creating stories to attack the CPI-M.
The controversy has also triggered a sharp tit-for-tat political exchange.
Former Congress MLA Rahul Mamkootathil, who himself faced sexual misconduct allegations last year and was ousted from the party, attacked Suresh Babu in a social media post.
He claimed that a young woman lawyer was called to the party office on the pretext of discussing a case and was sexually assaulted there.
Mamkootathil alleged that the complaint subsequently reached the CPI-M’s top leadership through a woman leader and that attempts were made to settle the matter internally.
His attack carries an added political context as Suresh Babu had strongly criticised him when allegations against the former Congress MLA surfaced.
Mamkootathil has now questioned Suresh Babu’s right to teach ethics while facing allegations of sexual misconduct.
The CPI-M leadership is caught in a tight position as allegations against Suresh Babu gain traction in the public domain.
–IANS
sg/vd