In Kerala, Minister Ask That Sexual Harassment Complaint Be Resolved On The Phone

Just like a breakup should not be done over a phone call, similarly, there are some grim issues that should and cannot be resolved over a phone call. For instance, an issue of sexual harassment against a woman is not something that one can resolve over a phone call just because it suits a man. Sexual harassment is a crime and should be treated like one. Just because a high-profile man is involved in the case does not mean that the sexual harassment issue can be resolved in a good way over a phone call. I mean, what even is a “good way” of resolving a sexual harassment case? Well, AK Saseendran believes there is a good way to resolve the issue via a phone call.

Recently, a woman in the Kollam district filed a sexual harassment complaint against G Padmakaran, a state committee member of the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP). Even after filing the harassment complaint against G Padmakaran, the Kundara police are yet to take any sort of action.

The woman was a BJP candidate from a constituency in Kollam for the local body polls that were being held last year and went through sexual harassment during that time. The woman when speaking to the media after the election said, “He grabbed my hand, asking if I contested for the party (BJP) for money and if so, he can give money if so. I told him that I contested because I am a BJP worker.”

The sexual harassment incident against the woman took place in G Padmakaran’s shop. She revealed that even before she had gone to the police station to file the harassment complaint, her father had gone to the NCP to ask G Padmakaran to apologize for his behaviour but he denied doing anything of the sort. 

The woman who went through sexual harassment also was allegedly defamed on social media by G Padmakaran. She said that he posted that she contested in the elections because she got money from BJP to do so. She also added that even the police are delaying the process of registering the case on the basis of the reason that they are investigating the complaint. 

Hearing about the sexual harassment incident, AK Saseendran, who is a Kerala Minister from NCP, interfered and tried to resolve the issue in a “good way” through a phone call. The audio clip of the phone call between AK Saseendran and the woman’s father, who is also a local NCP leader, was leaked to the media on 20th July.

Unlike the many other leaders who tried to stop the woman from filing a sexual harassment complaint, Ak Saseendran came into the matter after the complaint was filed. In the phone call, the Minister for Forests, Wildlife Protection in Kerala – AK Saseendran – identified himself and asked about the problems that are going on within the NCP. The father then denied knowing anything about the problems or what the Minister was talking about.

It is then that AK Saseendran spoke about the sexual harassment complaint that had been filed against some of the party members. Wanting to clarify, the woman’s father asked him if Minister AK Saseendran was talking about the complaint his daughter had filed against G Padmakaran. 

The Minister affirmed that he indeed was about the sexual harassment case and that the issue should be resolved in a “good way.” So, the father asked him what he meant by that, the Minister replied saying that it would become worse for all the party members if the sexual harassment issue became a controversy. 

Upon hearing this, the father asked if he had a solution to the sexual harassment incident – to which AK Saseendran, the Minister for Forests, Wildlife Protection in Kerala, ended the call stating that they would discuss the matter later and not over a phone call.

The sad fact about this entire issue is that a Minister is consciously trying to sabotage a woman from getting justice for her sexual harassment case that she filed against a high-profile man. He isn’t talking about what she might have gone through or is going through but rather is worried about his party and their image. And isn’t that most of what the politicians do? Suppress the truth and or bend the facts to suit their agendas. It’s high time that we stand up to these bullies and show them that no matter what truth and justice will always prevail.