On Sunday, Congress leader Simi Rosebell John was expelled from the grand old party after claiming that women leaders need “patronage” from party leaders to rise through the ranks. The Kerala Pradesh Congress Committee (KPCC) said in a statement that disciplinary action was taken as the party felt that John’s actions constituted a serious breach of discipline.
According to the statement, women leaders of the KPCC political affairs committee, women office-bearers in the PCC and the Mahila Congress chief have lodged a joint complaint with the party leadership seeking action against John, a former AICC member. According to the statement, Congress Kerala unit president K Sudhakaran has taken action against Simi Rosebell John as a result of this.
The leader made the allegations with the aim of defaming and mentally harassing hundreds of thousands of women leaders and workers of the Congress, the party leadership further charged.
Responding to the Congress’s allegations, Simi Rose Bell John, at a press conference in Kochi, lashed out at the Congress. The woman leader said dignified and proud women cannot work in the Congress party.
“If the party leadership has any evidence to prove their allegations, they should publish it,” he told reporters in Kochi. “Thus, they have expelled a person who has worked for the party for a long time. They should explain the reason for their action. If they are alleging a conspiracy with the CPI(M), they should publish proof of it,” John said.
In a recent interview with a television channel, Rosebell had made these allegations and claimed that those who do not enjoy the approval of party leaders, like Satheesan, are marginalised. She had also alleged that she was denied certain opportunities in the party due to objections from leaders like Satheesan and Hibi Eden.
In the wake of her allegations, the ruling CPI(M) on Saturday slammed the Congress, saying the grand old party has a “power group” similar to the one that allegedly exists in the film industry. The Kerala film industry has been rocked by similar allegations of sexual harassment, which coincide with the controversy.
Last week, when part of the Hema Committee report was made public, disturbing stories of sexual assault and intimidation suffered by women employed in the Malayalam film industry emerged. Since the report was published, more women have come forward to share their own terrifying experiences.
Disclaimer:
The information contained in this post is for general information purposes only. We make no representations or warranties of any kind, express or implied, about the completeness, accuracy, reliability, suitability or availability with respect to the website or the information, products, services, or related graphics contained on the post for any purpose.
We respect the intellectual property rights of content creators. If you are the owner of any material featured on our website and have concerns about its use, please contact us. We are committed to addressing any copyright issues promptly and will remove any material within 2 days of receiving a request from the rightful owner.