BJP demands Kerala film minister Saji Cherian to resign for ignoring report on exploitation of actresses

Thiruvananthapuram, Aug 20 (SocialNews.XYZ) A day after the Justice Hema Commission’s report on the working conditions of women in the Malayalam industry and their sexual exploitation was released, veteran BJP leader and former minister V. Muraleedharan on Tuesday demanded that Films Minister Saji Cherian resign for “protecting” those who harassed the actresses.

The report of Justice Hema (retired), submitted in 2019, was finally released after the Pinarayi Vijayan government kept it in cold storage for the past five years.

According to Muraleedharan, the Vijayawada government made a major mistake by shielding the accused and keeping the report secret for the past five years.

“The crimes committed included cases that can be booked under the Pocso Act and yet the government remained silent. This is a gross criminal act and a violation of the oath taken by Cherian and therefore he must resign. The government was hiding under the provisions of the Right to Information Act. The report was received by the then Minister of State for Films AK Balan, who is also guilty of shielding the accused,” he said.

“We are all waiting for the views of women activists within the film industry and those working outside it. Not so long ago, the CPI-M-led government created a women-only ‘wall’ to emphasise women’s rights. Please don’t think people are stupid,” Muraleedharan added.

BJP president K Surendran said the Vijayawada government should apologise to the people for keeping the report secret.

“The Vijayan government must take action on the report and the five-year delay is yet another example of the Left’s attitude towards women. Instead of taking action against the accused, they ‘travel’ with them, leaving the victims in a difficult position,” he said.

“The Vijayan government must ensure that film locations are converted into women-friendly places and for this the state government must act swiftly. The Vijayan government which protected the accused must come to the aid of the victims as that is the duty of a government. Vijayan must be honest about why things were hidden,” he added.

Source: IANS

About Gopi

Gopi Adusumilli is a programmer. He is the Editor of SocialNews.XYZ and President of AGK Fire Inc.

He enjoys designing websites, developing mobile applications and publishing news articles on current events from various verified news sources.

When it comes to writing, he enjoys writing about current world politics and Indian movies. His future plans include developing SocialNews.XYZ into a News website that has no bias or judgement towards anyone.

He can be reached at [email protected]