Congress under pressure to expel Kerala MLA Mamkootathil as more sexual assault allegations come up

Thiruvananthapuram: With fresh sexual allegations coming up against Kerala MLA Rahul Mamkootathil, the Congress state leadership is under pressure to expel him from the party and ask him to quit the MLA post.

The police on Wednesday registered a fresh sexual assault case against Mamkootathil on the basis of a complaint filed by a woman in Bengaluru that she was raped by giving false marriage promises.

In the meantime, a woman Congress activist stated that she too had suffered "bad experience" from Mamkootathil and many Congress women workers too said they had similar experiences.

Several Congress leaders, including former Kerala Pradesh Congress Committee presidents V M Sudheeran and K Muraleedharan, openly demanded Mamkootathil's expulsion from the party.

Kerala PCC president Sunny Joseph and opposition leader V D Satheesan said that necessary actions would be taken.

Meanwhile, a court in Thiruvananthapuram heard the anticipatory plea of Mamkootathil on Wednesday and posted the case for Thursday. Mamkootatahil alleged that the charges against him were part of a "political conspiracy" by CPM and BJP.

Mamkootathil was suspended from Congress in August after sexual assault allegations surfaced against him. But he managed to remain active as Palakkad MLA since no woman lodged formal complaints against him.

Last week a woman gave a formal complaint to Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan accusing Mamkootathil of sexual assault. Based on that, the police registered a case against him. Since then he has been absconding.