A week after the shameful ruckus in Kerala Assembly on March 13 over the Congress-led ruling UDF’s refusal to sack tainted Finance Minister KM Mani, senior leaders of the State Congress launched a vilification campaign against woman MlAs of the CPI(M)-led Opposition lDF by making outrageously obscene remarks.
Those who indulged in the outrageous campaign against the leftist woman legislators who had alleged sexual harassment by Congress MlAs in the Assembly amidst the ruckus were KC Abu, district Congress president in Kozhikode, and Kazhakoottam MlA MA Wahid, against whom the woman MlAs have already lodged a complaint with the Assembly Speaker.
While Abu, a staunch loyalist of Chief Minister Oommen Chandy, targeted ES Bijimol, CPI legislator from Peerumedu, and Jameela Prakasam, Janata Dal (S) MlA from Kovalam, Wahid’s attack was directed solely at Bijimol. Jameela and Bijimol are in the forefront of the efforts to ensure action against the Congress MlAs for their allegedly indecent behavior in the Assembly.
Abu later withdrew his remarks and tendered an open and unconditional apology under pressure from State Congress president VM Sudheeran who threatened to take disciplinary action against him. Sudheeran said that Abu’s statement on woman MlAs was quite inappropriate and that the Kerala PCC disagreed with it totally.
“I am sure that ES Bijimol will have no complaint against Minister Shibu Baby John for blocking her. When he blocked her, she was enjoying it. The fear women normally feel in situations like this was not there on the face of Bijimol. To speak the truth, Shibu himself told me that he and Bijimol were enjoying it,” Abu told newsmen in Kozhikode on Friday.
Referring to the complaint of Jameela Prakasam that K Sivadasan Nair, Congress MlA from Aranmula, had physically attacked her and harassed her sexually inside the Assembly on March 13, Abu said, “Why did she bite an old man like NairIJ If she wanted to bite someone, she could have bitten PK Basheer (Muslim league MlA) who looks like sugar caneIJ” he asked.
Jameela had bitten Sivadasan Nair on his shoulder when he allegedly misbehaved with her in the name of trying to protect the Chief Minister from a possible attack from the woman MlAs. The JD(S) legislator had justified her act by saying that she was just using the faculty the Nature had given her as a woman to defend herself in such situations.
Bijimol lodged a complaint with the Director General of Police demanding action against Abu. CPI legislator VS Sunilkumar said the lDF would complain to the police against Abu on Friday itself. “If India’s legal system works perfectly, we don’t have to lodge a complaint. The police and the Women’s Commission can initiate suo moto proceedings against him,” he said.
Shibu Baby John rejected Abu’s remarks as cheap. “His remarks have been unfortunate. There is a saying in our locality that wicked persons will have wicked thoughts. It is extremely sad that the decency that Bijimol showed in not resisting my attempt to block her is being interpreted in this manner,” he said.
In a speech at Kazhakoottam, Congress MlA Wahid, who had allegedly misbehaved with woman MlAs in the Assembly, said that Shibu Baby John knew “where to touch Bijimol” to tame her. He said Shibu had tamed Bijimol with just one touch when she was charging like an elephant that had gone berserk.
Senior Congress leaders had launched a vilification campaign using sexist remarks against film actress Sweta Menon after she accused then Congress MP N Peethambara Kurup of sexually harassing her during the inauguration of a boat race in Kollam in November, 2013.