Suspended Congress MLA Rahul Mamkootathil Monday attended the 14th session of the current Kerala Assembly.
The proceedings of the day were limited to obituary references to sitting legislator Vazhoor Soman, former chief minister V S Achuthanandan and former legislator P P Thankachan, who died during the period after the last assembly session.
Congress suspended Mamkootathil, legislator from Palakkad assembly seat, last month after multiple allegations of misconduct from women. Later, police had registered criminal cases against Rahul on charges of stalking and repeatedly causing annoyance to women. The young leader who was removed as the state president of youth congress, turned up for the assembly sessions at a time no women had approached the police or deposed against Rahul as part of the probe.
After Congress informed the Speaker about Rahul’s removal from the parliamentary party of Congress, he was allotted a separate seat behind the Opposition Bench in the assembly. There was no exchange of pleasantries with Rahul either from the Opposition or the Treasury bench.
On Monday, he turned up at the assembly while senior Congress legislator and Opposition Leader V D Satheesan was speaking as part of the obituary references. Satheesan was not in favour of Rahul attending the assembly session as Congress fears that his presence will setback for the Opposition, which is keen to target the government on a slew of issues.
After emerging from the Assembly, Rahul denied the reports that he had attended the session defying the party. “I have never defied the Congress. Although I have been suspended from the Congress, I will always remain loyal to the party. I have not tried to meet any leader personally these days. The state government has assigned its police to probe against me. Let the investigation against me go on. I don’t expect any privilege,” he said, without answering the questions about audios about his misconduct with women and forcing them to undergo abortion.
Reacting to Mamkootathil presence in the Assembly, Congress state president Sunny Joseph, who is also a legislator, said: he was a member of the assembly “and people have elected him”.
