Palakkad (Kerala) [India], August 25 : The Democratic Youth Federation of India (DYFI) on Sunday carried out a protest march in Kerala's Palakkad, demanding the resignation of Congress MLA Rahul Mamkootathil, who has been accused of obscene conduct by writer Honey Bhaskaran and model Rini Ann George.
DYFI, the youth wing of the Communist Party of India (Marxist), has been demanding Mamkootathil's resignation from his MLA post.
Meanwhile, BJP Council Party leader from Kozhikode Corporation in Kerala, Navya Haridas, on Friday said that there have been several more allegations against Mamkootathil.
The Mahila Morcha State President alleged that many women and even transgender persons have levelled sexual harassment complaints against the Palakkad MLA.
"There are many allegations against the current Palakkad MLA, Rahul Mamkootathil. It's not a complaint from one woman; there are so many women complaining against him based on sexual harassment," Haridas told ANI.
"More shocking events are coming when that list includes transgender individuals as well. So, these are not baseless allegations against Rahul; all these allegations are coming with proof, with a chat history, with voice messages and everything."
The BJP leader has called for Mamkootathil's resignation. "Mahila Morcha is planning many protests in Palakkad district as well as in all the 30 districts of Kerala against this issue," she said.
On Thursday, the Congress MLA Mamkootathil resigned from his position as the State President of the Youth Congress.
Palakkad MP V K Sreekandan, however, said that no decision has been made regarding Mamkootathil's resignation from his MLA post.
Sreekandan further noted that when the allegations surfaced, the party leadership had promptly asked Mamkootathil to resign, which he had complied with voluntarily.
"It has not been decided that Rahul Mamkootathil will resign from the MLA post. It is the party leadership which will make a decision. First of all, the complaint is vague. When such remarks came out, the party leadership asked him to resign, and he did voluntarily. The party has decided to conduct an inquiry, based on its report; further action will be taken. At present, we don't know whether it was any fault on his side. If there is anything serious from his side, the party will inquire and take strong action," he said.
Earlier, Mamkootathil resigned from his position as the Kerala Youth Congress President after writer Honey Bhaskaran and model Rini Ann George accused the Congress MLA of sending inappropriate messages and engaging in obscene conduct.