Kerala’s Transport Minister AK Saseendran resigned from the Pinarayi Vijayan cabinet on Sunday after a television channel aired an audio clip of a sexually explicit phone conversation allegedly featuring the politician.
The clip was aired by Mangalam Television, which is owned by Kottayam-based Mangalam Group, in its launch programme on Sunday.
The 72-year-old Saseendran is the lone Nationalist Congress Party member in the Left Democratic Front government, which came to power in May.
He is a member of the Nationalist Congress Party National Council, and represents Elathur Assembly constituency in Kozhikode district. This was his first term as a minister, though he was elected as an MLA in 1980, 1982, 2006 and 2011.
Saseendran announced his resignation a few hours after Mangalam TV aired the clip.
His decision came shortly after Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan described the TV expose as a serious issue and failed to articulate any support for his cabinet colleague. Instead, he said that appropriate steps would be taken after thoroughly studying the issue.
The chief minister’s snub forced Saseendran to convene a press conference in Kozhikode immediately. He claimed he was innocent. “The resignation should not be seen as an acceptance of guilt,” he said. “I have tendered my resignation to uphold political morality.”
He also announcied that he was ready to face a thorough inquiry. “I haven’t behaved in an improper manner with anyone. I am ready to face a thorough inquiry which should bring out facts.”
A car accident
Saseendran is the fifth minister since 1963 to resign from the Kerala cabinet following accusations of sexual misconduct.
The first sex scandal to rock Kerala politics occurred in 1963 and forced the resignation of PT Chacko, the home minister in the R Shankar ministry.
His resignation, curiously, was the fallout of a car accident. The minister had been travelling in his official vehicle to Peechi Dam site in Thrissur for a vacation. The vehicle met with an accident near Changanassery. Later, reports suggested that a lady was present in the car at the time.
The Opposition used this as a political weapon to demand the removal of the minister. Chief Minister Shankar was not convinced that the minister had done anything wrong, but 27 ruling Congress MLAs threatened to resign if Chako stayed on.
The most colourfully titled affair broke in 1996, when Indian Union Muslim League leader PK Kunhalikkutty was accused of being involved in the “Ice Cream Parlour Sex Scandal”. It was claimed that the parlour in Kozhikode was used as a cover for a prostitution racket. But Kunhalikkutty, the minister for Industries and Municipalities in the AK Antony cabinet, was able to weather the storm thanks to the support of his party and the United Democratic Front.
However, the controversy came back to haunt him a decade later when he became industries minister in the Oommen Chandy cabinet. Public protests forced him to resign in 2005. The next year, he suffered a defeat for the first time from his pocket borough of Kuttipuram in Malappuram district. However, he came back strongly to become an influential figure in Kerala politics.
Guesthouse incident
In 2000, Neelalohitha Dasan Nadar, who held the portfolios of transport and forest in the Left Democratic Front government led by Communist Party of India (Marxist) leader, EK Nayanar, had to quit after he was accused of sexual misconduct by two women. One of them was an Indian Administrative Service officer and the other an Indian Forest Service officer. The forest officer complained that the minister “tried to outrage her modesty” after he summoned her to the government guesthouse in Kozhikode early in 1999.
In 2006, PJ Joseph, the Public Works Department minister in the VS Achuthanandan cabinet, had to quit after a co-passenger accused her of misbehaving with her. The resignation came a few days after the Left Democratic Front government completed 100 days in office.
