The Kerala unit of the Indian National Congress is reportedly struggling to decide its next steps in the case of suspended MLA Rahul Mamkootathil, who is facing two rape allegations, as a woman leader from within the party has now come forward with her own account of an uncomfortable experience involving the young legislator.
M.A. Shahanas, associated with the party’s cultural and literary wing, Samskara Sahithi, has alleged that Mamkootathil sent her inappropriate messages after she returned from Delhi, where she had participated in the farmers’ protest.
This is said to be the first allegation to emerge from within the Congress itself, as the two criminal cases registered over the past week are based on complaints filed by women the MLA allegedly came into contact with through social media.
In a Facebook post, Shahanas said she had cautioned Congress MP Shafi Parambil at the time Mamkootathil was appointed as state president of the Youth Congress in 2023, replacing Parambil. She claimed she had warned that placing him in a position where many women worked would put them at risk, but alleged that her concerns were dismissed, Indian Express reported.
Speaking later to the media, she said Mamkootathil had invited her to travel with him to Delhi and had questioned why she had not informed him about her earlier trip. She alleged that his remarks made it clear he was referring to a personal trip and added that women Congress leaders were familiar with his conduct.
Meanwhile, a district sessions court in Thiruvananthapuram on Wednesday heard Mamkootathil’s plea for anticipatory bail. Police have alleged that he went into hiding after being booked in a case in which a woman accused him of rape and forcing her to terminate a pregnancy.
A second case has since been registered based on a complaint by a 23-year-old woman, who has similarly alleged sexual exploitation on the promise of marriage. The court is expected to deliver its order on Thursday.
As the controversy grows, several senior Congress leaders are learned to have suggested that Mamkootathil be expelled from the party. However, KPCC president Sunny Joseph said the MLA had already been suspended soon after the earlier allegation surfaced in August and removed from the party’s parliamentary party, with the decision conveyed to the Assembly Speaker. He added that any further action would be decided at an appropriate time.