Protesters demand forest minister’s resignation

TRIVANDRUM: Protesters clashed with police in many places on Thursday demanding the resignation of Kerala forest minister AK Saseendran over charges of abeting a crime against women.

The Congress party-led opposition legislators raised the issue in the state legislature and staged a walkout ater Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan justified him.

Also on the day, the victim registered a complaint against the 75-year-old leader who had to resign during his previous term over phone sex with a woman reporter.

In the state capital here, the police fired water cannons, teargas shells and grenades at the protesters who marched on the Assembly

Complex where the session was going on.

The young victim, whose father is also a local leader of Saseendran’s Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) said she was upset at the way the chief minister justified him.

“In my complaint, I have said everything including the minister’s atempt to silence us and the police taking too long to book the man who sexually harassed me,” she said.

“I have clearly narrated everything to the officers, right from Padmadharan grabbing my hands with the intention to harass me and what had followed.”

The incident happened last year when she contested the civic polls as a candidate of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).

She said Vijayan was blindly supporting the minister by distorting the facts while the “audio clip of the telephone conversation between him and my dad reveals all.”

The man, who is also a rich businessman whom she used to address as “uncle” for his closeness with her father, called her into his hotel, grabbed arms and offered money.

“There was a series of sex crimes against women and children since you assumed office,” VD Satheeshan, the leader of the opposition, said before leading the walkout.

“You always backed the criminals in these cases, including the rape and murder of children. You even demeaned the women’s panel (by appointing loyal party leaders).”

The Communist Party of India (Marxist) or CPI (M), which leads the ruling coalition, had earlier rejected the call for the minister’s resignation.

“The victim has also stated that the minister was familiar with the issue,” Satheesan said.

“It is clear from the conversation that came out in the media that the minister was aware of the issue.”

Vijayan said the minister had already made it clear that he had interfered thinking it was some party-related mater.