Kannur (Kerala), Nov 23 (PTI) A member of CPI(M)’s Kannur District Secretariat on Sunday accused the SDPI of “adopting a communal approach to sexual assault cases”, reacting based on the religion of the accused and the victim.
P Harindran, speaking at an event here, referred to a 2020 case in Palathayi in which a teacher raped a student.
He alleged that the Social Democratic Party of India highlighted the case because “the accused was Hindu and the victim a Muslim girl.” He further claimed that numerous other instances of sexual assault by “ustads” against minor boys and girls had been reported in Kerala, but the SDPI did not protest or take action.
“Have they ever tried to find out what happened in those cases? Did they protest? They did nothing,” he said.
Harindran alleged that this “narrow-minded” and “communal” mindset was also seen in the Indian Union Muslim League (IUML).
“Your problem is not that someone was sexually assaulted. Your problem was that the accused is a Hindu and the victim is a Muslim girl,” he claimed.
“That is the thinking of SDPI. It is narrow-minded, communal—the same thinking as the League,” he added.
He further said that the CPI(M) does not follow such an approach.
“We don’t look at whether the victim is Hindu or Muslim. We always stand with them. That is the approach of the communists,” Harindran said.
A Kerala court on November 15 sentenced Padmarajan K, also known as Pappen Master (48), to life imprisonment for sexually assaulting a 10-year-old female student in a school toilet at Palathayi. The teacher was dismissed from service following his conviction.
The BJP had alleged that the case “was part of a conspiracy by the SDPI.” PTI HMP SSK
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