Kerala‘s Leader of the Opposition V.D. Satheesan inaugurates a protest by the United Democratic Front (UDF) in front of the Secretariat in Thiruvananthapuram on September 2, 2024 demanding action against the accused in the Hema Committee report.
| Photo Credit: S. Mahinsha
The Congress-led United Democratic Front (UDF) Opposition in Kerala launched a Statewide agitation demanding Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan’s resignation on Monday (September 2, 2024)
A galaxy of UDF leaders staged a protest in front of the Government Secretariat, signalling the start of the campaigning that seeks to spotlight the ruling Left Democratic Front (LDF) government’s alleged secreting of the 2019 Hema Committee report, which documented sexual exploitation and abuse in the sprawling Malayalam movie industry.
The Opposition also sought to turn the public glare on the accusations raised by the Left Democratic Front (LDF) independent legislator P.V. Anwar against Mr. Vijayan’s political secretary P. Sasi and Additional Director General of Police (ADGP), Law and Order, M.R. Ajith Kumar.
Leader of the Opposition V.D. Satheesan, who inaugurated the protest, said Mr. Anwar had “vindicated” the UDF’s assertion that a “criminal clique” operating out of the Chief Minister’s Office (CMO) controlled the police and used law enforcement for “corruption, nepotism, vendetta and self-enrichment.”
Mr. Satheesan said Mr. Anwar’s charge that the ADGP ordered wiretaps on Ministers was grave and warranted an investigation. “LDF Ministers should show the spine to take up the matter with the Chief Minister”, he added.
(On Sunday, CPI State secretary Binoy Viswam also demanded a probe to see if Mr. Anwar’s accusations were true.)
Dawood Ibrahim comparison
Mr. Satheesan said Mr. Anwar’s likening of the ADGP, Law and Order, to underworld don Dawood Ibrahim had a chilling effect on Kerala society.
He pointed out that Mr. Anwar had worryingly linked murders and disappearances to those at the law enforcement’s apex. “The public needed answers”, he said.
Mr. Satheesan said the “grovelling entreaties” by a ranking officer, requesting Mr. Anwar to stop pursuing justice in the 2024 Tanur police station custodial death in the Malappuram district was “cringe-inducing and a stain” on the State law enforcement’s professionalism and reputation.
Gold smuggling scandal
Mr. Satheesan said Mr. Anwar had resurrected the ghosts of the gold smuggling scandal that dogged the 2016 Pinarayi Vijayan government by accusing the police top brass of profiting from ambushing smugglers outside airports, allegedly with the tacit connivance of corrupt Customs officials and sharing the spoils, a portion of which supposedly went to those at the apex of the system.
Regarding the Hema Committee report, Mr. Satheesan said the government had delayed it to “save the reputations of the powerful perpetrators.”
He said the government’s contention that the committee had argued for keeping the incriminating report confidential was just a fig leaf intended to save the serial sex offenders in Mollywood.
Mr. Satheesan pointed out that the publication of the report’s redacted version had prompted wronged women in the industry to testify to the police in droves.
He said it was telling on the CPI(M) leadership that its Kollam legislator and actor M. Mukesh was accused in several complaints.
Mr. Satheesan said the Hema Committee had not conjured up its findings from thin air and that harrowing statements from survivors and evidence submitted by the victims informed the panel’s damning conclusions.
He said the offences the committee documented included the sexual abuse of juvenile actors. Despite having complaints and evidence on record, the government impeded legal action on the findings, denying the victims justice and allowing the malpractices in the industry to continue unchecked for years.
‘LDF is inherently anti-women’
“The State seemed unmindful that the survivors had braved heavy personal and professional odds to depose before the committee. The LDF has proved that it is inherently anti-women,” Mr. Satheesan said.
Indian Union Muslim League (IUML) national general secretary P.K. Kunhalikutty, IUML State general secretary P.M.A. Salam, UDF convenor M.M. Hassan, Congress Working Committee (CWC) member Ramesh Chennithala, Communist Marxist Party (CMP) leader C.P. John, All India Forward Bloc leader G. Devarajan, were among those present.
