Scandals hitting Kerala’s power centres

Then there was the first ever honey trap case in 2017, involving then transport minister AK Saseendran. The LDF government had no choice but to demand his resignation after a local channel aired an audio clip of Saseendran allegedly speaking inappropriately to a woman. Saseendran resigned on March 26, 2017. However, he was later acquitted after the plaintiff told a court that the case had been settled out of court. He was reinstated in the cabinet in 2018. Saseendran won the next election in 2021.

According to political commentator Ajith Sreenivasan, in 99 out of 100 cases of sexual abuse, suspects avoid justice by using their power to manipulate evidence or defect to witnesses.

On July 22, 2017, Congress MP M Vincent from Kovalam was arrested on charges of rape and jailed. However, the Congress maintained that the accused MLA should not be allowed to resign. On November 26, 2018, the CPM suspended its then MLA PK Sasi for six months on the basis of a sexual harassment complaint filed by a woman leader of DYFI. Congress MLA from Peumbavoor, Edhose Kunnapally, was arrested on October 22, 2022, for sexually assaulting a woman.

He was released on bail. In this case too, neither the Congress nor the UDF pressed for his resignation as MLA. PC George was arrested on July 2, 2022, for outraging a woman’s modesty after the prime accused in the Solar scam case accused him of sexual misconduct. In the latest case involving a politician in a sexual harassment case, CPM MLA and actor M Mukesh has been booked on the complaint of a Kochi-based actor. “Though a majority of politicians were acquitted, they were punished in the legal proceedings compared to other sectors,” senior journalist MG Radhakrishnan told TNI.

Social commentator and lawyer A Jayasankar told TNI that most of the sex scandals that came to light mainly involved Congress and UDF leaders because it has an open system.

“There have also been issues of sexual abuse in CPM but there is an iron curtain and above all a strong organisational structure which ensures that shady issues do not get into the media. Why did Simy Rosebell John revolt against the Congress leadership? Everyone knows that she has been sidelined and that is why she decided to break the silence,” Jayasankar said.

Scandal leads to birth of party

A regional political party in the state was born out of a sex scandal that rocked the R Sankar ministry in 1964. Had 49-year-old Congress stalwart PT Chacko not been thrown out of the ministry and subsequently died of a heart attack, the Kerala Congress would not have come into existence.

Scandal revealed in 2013

The biggest sex scandal broke out in 2013 when the UDF government led by Oommen Chandy was in power. An allegation of sexual exploitation was levelled against the then CM Chandy, minister AP Anil Kumar, MP Hibi Edan and Congress leader KC Venugopal by accused solar fraudster Saritha Nair