Beleaguered CPI(M) legislator comes under more duress from Opposition parties

CPI(M) legislator M. Mukesh faces mounting pressure to resign amid sexual abuse allegations, sparking political controversy in Kerala.

Beleaguered Communist Party of India (Marxist) [CPI(M)] legislator and actor M. Mukesh, who is under a cloud of suspicion after a woman actor publicly accused him of sexual abuse, seemed to come under further duress on Wednesday with the Congress and Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) ratcheting up their demand for his resignation. 

Opposition parties and their women’s organisations protested in front of Mr. Mukesh’s office and home in Kollam for the second consecutive day. They alleged that Mr. Mukesh’s presence in a panel to formulate film policy undermined the State government’s legitimacy and raised questions about its sincerity of purpose. 

Leader of the Opposition V.D. Satheesan told reporters in Malappuram that the government’s shielding of Mr. Mukesh dovetailed with its reluctance to initiate prosecution based on the damning findings of the Hema committee report that documented sexual exploitation and abuse in the movie industry. 

Moreover, Mr. Satheesan said a Union Minister’s brazen defence of those film industry figures whom several survivors had publicly identified as their exploiters reflected the tacit understanding between the CPI(M) and BJP in Kerala. 

Mr. Satheesan also accused the government of illegally redacting more pages in the Hema committee report than mandated by the Information Commission to secrete incriminating evidence to save violators. He accused the government of being inherently misogynistic. 

BJP State president K. Surendran said that Mr. Mukesh stood accused of serious crimes. The government’s barefaced defence of the suspects has shocked civil society and cast aspersions on the administration’s commitment to upholding women’s rights. Mr. Surendran said the Left Democratic Front could redeem itself in the public eye by disavowing Mr. Mukesh, ensuring his exit as a legislator, and also by arresting the legislator on sexual abuse charges.

The CPI(M) and government remained silent on the Opposition’s demand. The party and government seemed disinclined to grant the Congress and BJP a political victory by seeking Mr. Mukesh’s resignation. However, it was likely that the legislator might recuse himself from the government panel for formulating cinema policy.