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Thiruvananthapuram: Suspended Congress MLA Rahul Mamkootathil, who had recently sought to re-establish his political presence through active participation in local body election campaigns, suffered a major setback on Thursday after a woman formally submitted a sexual exploitation complaint directly to Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan. Reacting to the fresh development, the Congress leader took to his social media page and said, “As long as I know, I have done no wrong, I will deal with this legally.” “Truth will always triumph,” wrote Mamkootathil. The Chief Minister forwarded the complaint to the Crime Branch, which is now expected to register an FIR, a development that could potentially lead to the legislator’s arrest. Mamkootathil was suspended from the Congress in August following harassment allegations from multiple women and resigned as president of the Kerala Youth Congress. Until now, his supporters often maintained that while media reports existed, no formal complaint had been filed. The controversy intensified early this week after fresh audio clips and WhatsApp chats allegedly showing Rahul coercing a young woman into pregnancy and abortion surfaced online earlier this week. These leaks have gone viral on some social media platforms, sparking renewed political and public debate. The timing of the allegations, barely weeks ahead of the December 11 local body elections, has raised political eyebrows. Despite his suspension, Mamkootathil retains his MLA status and is legally allowed to campaign. Over the past few weeks, he has been prominently active in Palakkad, leading house visits, street campaigns and ward-level mobilisation. He recently drew attention after preventing the rejection of a UDF candidate’s nomination by successfully arguing before election authorities – a move that briefly restored his image among party cadres. Mamkootathil’s supporters claim that both CPI（M） and BJP attempted to restrict his campaign activities but were forced to back down under public pressure. With an FIR likely to be registered, political observers predict that the controversy could escalate into a full-blown legal and electoral battle. Meanwhile, former state BJP president K. Surendran said the game is up for Mamkootathil, and the need of the hour is that he should resign as a legislator. Incidentally, Mamkootathil won his debut election in November last year when he won the Palakkad Assembly bye-election with a handsome margin. –IANS |
