Senior NCP leaders on Wednesday said they currently do not think any illegal act has been done by Kerala Forest Minister AK Saseendran, who allegedly tried to settle a sexual harassment case involving a party member in Kollam. While the Congress was continuously demanding his resignation. The CPI(M) said it did not have complete information. Meanwhile, Sashindran met Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan at his official residence.
After the meeting, he told the media that he apprised the chief minister about the entire matter and his role in the matter and Vijayan listened to him. However, Sashindran did not specify what the chief minister’s reaction was.
Left Democratic Front (LDF) convener in Kerala and CPI(M) Kerala State Committee secretary A Vijayaraghavan said his party or the state government has not yet taken any decision as they do not have complete information about the matter. . . He said at present only those details are available which are being shown on news channels and based on that a decision cannot be taken and hence, he cannot comment on whether Sashindran should resign or not.
Leader of Opposition VD Satheesan reiterated the demand for Sashindran’s resignation and said that if he does not resign, the chief minister should remove him. He said the CPI(M) was running pro-women programs in the state and questioned whether the immediate incident was also a part of it.
He said if Sashindran does not resign or is not removed, the issue will be taken up in the Assembly, whose second session will begin from Thursday. A similar demand was made by Congress MP Benny Behanan in a letter to the Kerala Governor on Wednesday.
He has sought a direction from the governor to the chief minister to remove the state’s forest minister, saying he had allegedly put pressure on the victim’s father to settle the sexual assault case against a wealthy NCP leader in Kollam. Violated the oath of office. After news channels speculated that the state government would not seek her resignation, the victim told the media that she was disappointed with the chief minister and his government’s stand on the issue.
He alleged that the chief minister has taken a stand which is in favor of his government and it was “not expected” from him. He further said that this will send a wrong message to the women of the state that their safety is not important to the government.
She said that she is contemplating going to court to take action against the minister. The victim also claimed that her statement is yet to be recorded by the Kundra police station.
She said that she was called to record her statement at 6 pm on Tuesday, but she had told the police that she could not come so late and the officers had said they would call her on Wednesday. “I have not received any such call,” he told the media.
Earlier in the day, Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) national secretary TP Peethambaran said that the minister only tried to resolve some issues related to the party in Kollam and moreover he did not interfere in any sexual harassment case. NCP’s Kerala state president, PC Chacko, also reacted similarly with regard to the allegations against Sashindran, saying that the minister never asked the victim’s father – NCP’s Kundra block president – to withdraw the case and only Asked them to resolve it amicably. It was a party related issue.
Chacko said whether there was abuse of official position or interference in any criminal matter by the minister, it would have to be disclosed to Sashindran and a decision would be taken by the state government. However, according to the party, neither the state government nor Sashindran can be blamed on moral or legal grounds in the present issue, he said, adding that it was a “deliberate attempt” to defame the minister.
He said all those demanding Sashindran’s resignation were doing so without knowing the full facts. Chacko, during a meeting with media persons in Delhi, said that as far as NCP is concerned, two of its general secretaries have been sent to Kollam to find out what had happened and based on their report if it is found that the party Some of the members have worked there. Strict action will be taken against the way the party is defamed.
He said, as per his information, there was some money dispute between the party members in respect of which some NCP members had approached the minister to call the block president to resolve the matter and hence Sashindran had called . He further said that the complaint of sexual harassment lodged by the girl is a separate issue which the police should investigate and take appropriate action as per law and added that the NCP will not interfere in it for any reason.
Chacko said that if a complaint has been made, it is the responsibility of the police to investigate it and the NCP will not try to “silence” it or prevent the agency from doing its job. The matter came to light after Malayalam news channels started telecasting the purported telephonic conversation between Sashindran and the woman’s father, seeking a mutual settlement of the issue.
Following this, the minister told the media that he called the girl’s father, but tried to resolve the dispute in the party. He had claimed that when he came to know that it was a case of attempted sexual assault, he did not intervene further.
The woman, a BJP member, said the NCP member had asked her in March if she had joined the BJP to earn money and if so, he would pay her and then allegedly held her hand. However, he had not lodged a complaint then.
Following this, NCP members used to make fun of him on various forums and then on June 28, posted his election campaign poster on WhatsApp with the comment that his father had joined the BJP to earn money. Seeing this he told his father about the previous incident and he said that a complaint should be lodged with the police.
He has also accused the police of inaction.
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