The Kerala CPI(M) on Friday ruled out the removal or resignation of Marxist Power Minister MM Mani, a State secretariat member of the party, from the party-led lDF Cabinet over the extremely dirty remarks he had made against Munnar’s woman tea estate workers despite the protests mounting against him across the State even as the Kerala High Court came down heavily on the Minister and the State police chief over the issue.
“The party does not view this issue as one that warrants the removal of the Minister,” said State CPI(M) secretary Kodiyeri Balakrishnan.
The CPI(M)'s State committee had on Wednesday decided to publicly censure Mani over of his speech last week in which he made some obscene remarks against the women tea workers.
“The (Congress-led Oppo-
sition) UDF is in the habit of demanding Ministers’ resignation whenever an issue comes up. The call for Mani’s resignation from the Cabinet is only a political slogan of the Congress. The party does not accept this political slogan of the Opposition,” Kodiyeri said.
While criticising some aspects of the recent anti-encroachment activities in Munnar, Mani had in a speech last week made some disgustingly obscene remarks against the Penpilai Orumai (Women’s Unity), a forum of Munnar’s women tea workers who had held a legendary struggle demanding higher wages and bonus in 2015, and some revenue officials and mediamen.
“Many things had happened during the Penpilai Orumai (struggle of 2015). Boozing and other dirty things had taken place. The ‘work’ was in the nearby forest,” Mani said in his speech triggering protests instantly across the State and leaders of the Orumai launched an indefinite protest in Munnar demanding his resignation and direct and unconditional apology.
While considering a Public Interest litigation seeking initiation of legal action against Mani in the name of his speech insulting woman plantation workers and womanhood, the High Court on Friday harshly criticised the Minister, the State Government and the Director General of Police, observing that the matter was extremely serious.
Expressing concern over the goings-on in the State, the court asked whether the State police chief was not seeing what was happening around. At this point, the Government counsel claimed that Mani’s comments were not against women but against some mediamen and added that the recording of his speech could be produced to prove this.
This irked the court further and it asked whether anybody had the right to do anything against mediamen. They were also human beings and they had their fundamental rights, the court pointed out. It also directed all the concerned parties including the Government and the DGP to make their positions clear on the issue.
Minister Mani said he did not want to respond to the observations of the High Court but claimed that the observations had nothing to do with Penpilai Orumai. Mani also said that he could not change his style of speaking. Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan had justified Mani earlier in the State Assembly by saying that he was speaking in rustic style.
Meanwhile, the Rajakkad police in Idukki district would record the statement of the Minister on the basis of a complaint lodged by the Youth Congress in connection with his controversial speech. However, no date has been set for this. The police have already recorded the statements of those who had listened to Mani’s speech. They have also examined its recording.
On Friday, the Penpilai Orumai successfully resisted the police’s efforts to remove their leaders, whose protest fast in Munnar demanding Mani’s resignation and apology entered the fourth day, to the hospital.