Even before a week is over since landgrab-accused Thomas Chandy resigned as Transports Minister from Kerala’s CPI(M)-led lDF Cabinet, his party, the NCP, has started efforts to bring senior party leader AK Saseendran, who had stepped down from the same position nine months ago over a sex-talk scandal, back into the State’s Council of Ministers.
The party’s move is based on the hope that the report of the Justice PS Antony Commission, which has been looking into the sex scandal involving Saseendran, will exonerate him for lack of evidence. The panel is expected to submit its enquiry report to the Government on Tuesday. The NCP does not have a Minister anywhere in the country presently.
Saseendran, one of the only two NCP members in the Kerala Assembly (the other is Thomas Chandy), had resigned as Transport Minister on March 26 last within hours of a newly launched Malayalam TV channel airing an audio-tape in which he was heard making lewd and obscene comments to a young woman. It was later revealed that Saseendran was the victim of a sting operation mounted by an “investigation team” of the channel using the honey trap route with the help of one of its young woman employees. This had led to the arrest of several
channel employees including its chief executive officer and senior journalists.
The woman journalist who had allegedly lured Saseendran into the trap through phone
conversation had later filed a
private complaint in the court charging him with sexual harassment. The woman has now submitted an application in the High Court seeking permission to withdraw the complaint against the NCP leader.
Businessman Thomas Chandy, the richest MlA in Kerala, was sworn in as Minister in the place of Saseendran on April 1 but stated that he would step down once Saseendran was given a clean chit in investigation. Chandy himself resigned last Wednesday over charges of encroaching public land and lake, illegal land-filling and misusing public funds for private purposes.
“Saseendran deserves a berth in the Cabinet once he is exonerated by the inquiry commission,” said State NCP president TP Peethambaran the other day, adding that the national leadership would approve this. Observers said the central NCP leadership would be happy to see Saseendran getting back into the Cabinet as it has no Minister in the country presently.
As per reports, the Justice Antony Commission has not been able to get the unedited original tape containing the full conversation between Saseendran and the young woman, which is the most
crucial evidence as far as the charge against the NCP leader is concerned.
The channel had not produced it before the panel nor had the police been able to find it.
It is said that the commission has also not been able to prove that the voice found on the tape made available to it was that of Saseendran. “Once Saseendran is exonerated by the commission through the panel’s report, Saseendran can come back to the Cabinet even if the process for withdrawal of the woman’s complaint gets delayed,” said an NCP leader.
However, observers feel that Saseendran’s re-entry into the Cabinet will not be easy as the CPI, second biggest lDF partner whose firm demand had led to the resignation of Chandy, may oppose the NCP move. “The CPI need not have any problem in this. Also, we are sure that Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan and his party will support our cause,” said the NCP leader.