Thiruvananthapuram: The Kerala Congress Thursday expelled Palakkad MLA Rahul Mamkootathil from the party after a court here rejected his anticipatory bail plea in a case of alleged rape and coerced termination of pregnancy, a development that could cast a shadow on the party’s prospects in the local body polls next week.
The party’s decision came amid demands from its own female leaders who sought action against the 36-year-old who faces allegations of sexual abuse from multiple women.
Kerala Pradesh Congress Committee (KPCC) chief Sunny Joseph said the decision to expel him from the party was unanimous, but it was not linked to the court order.
“Rahul Mamkootathil has been expelled from the Congress with the AICC’s permission. We had sought the permission earlier, we got it now,” said Sunny, adding Mamkootathil should resign as MLA now.
However, many senior leaders, including K. Muraleedharan and MP Adoor Prakash, had earlier hinted a decision on the expulsion would be taken based on the court order.
Rahul, who has been one of the Congress’ popular young leaders in the state, was suspended from the party in August, after multiple women made allegations of sexual abuse against him through social media.
Later, multiple audio clips surfaced in which the MLA was purportedly heard forcing women to undergo abortions. Rahul, who was then the president of the Youth Congress, resigned the post.
On 27 November, one of the women met Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan on the matter. The state police filed an FIR in the case the following day, and launched a probe. The MLA filed an anticipatory bail plea on 28 November, and has been absconding since.
Meanwhile, another woman filed a complaint with the Kerala Pradesh Congress Committee leadership Tuesday through an email, which the party forwarded to the police.
The latest complaint came from a woman Congress leader, who alleged Wednesday that Rahul had sent inappropriate messages to her when she returned from Delhi after taking part in a farmers’ protest.
M. A. Shahanas, the leader of the Congress’ cultural outfit Samskara Sahithi, told media Wednesday night Rahul suggested they both could have taken the trip together to Delhi after he learned about her visit. She alleged that she informed Congress MP Shafi Parambil about Rahul’s conduct, which was not taken seriously.
Following the allegations, multiple women leaders of the Congress, including former MLA Shanimol Usman, demanded the MLA be expelled from the party.
The court order and expulsion mark an important turning point in the case haunting the Congress since August.
Though the MLA was suspended in August, the ruling LDF and the BJP had been attacking the Congress for “protecting” him. The current development also casts a shadow on the Congress’ prospects as it comes just days before the local body polls, and months before the Assembly polls.
However, Sunny Joseph is confident the expulsion will have negligible impact on the party’s campaign in the poll season. The public would trust the Congress, as the party took the right stand when necessary, instead of protecting the accused, he said.
“We took a moral stand from the beginning. We suspended him much before formal complaints were registered. He was also removed from the Youth Congress post. When we received the complaint, we sent it to the police,” Sunny said.
(Edited by Ajeet Tiwari)
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