Thiruvananthapuram: The attempt by a section of CPM state and central leadership to delay action on the sexual harassment complaint submitted by DYFI woman activist three weeks ago has boomeranged.
The DYFI leader had submitted the complaint to district leadership, state secretary and CPM politburo member Brinda Karat on August 14. But no action was initiated on it. This forced her to send the complaint by e mail to CPM general secretary Sitaram Yechury on Monday.
"Yes we received the complaint yesterday. It has been sent to state committee for action," Yechury told mediapersons on Tuesday. Yechury's confirmation led to a major controversy within the party. The CPM state leaders who were in denial mode were forced to come out and confirm that they had received the complaint.
While Brinda Karat refused to comment on the matter , CPM state secretary Kodiyeri Balakrishnan said;'' A complaint was received three weeks ago. The state leadership is in the process of initiating appropriate action on the complaint."
When asked whether the party would hand over the complaint to police, Kodiyeri said;''This particular issue is not of that nature. If it was to be handed over to the police, the complainant would have given to the police. Anything which the party receives will be tackled in our own method. For that the party has its own mechanism."
Later in the day the CPM politburo tried to do some damage control by issuing a statement. It contradicted Yechury's statement and even tried to suggest that it had not received any complaint from the DYFI activist. "Some media reports have appeared that on a complaint from Kerala regarding an elected representative, the Party Centre has intervened and given direction on the action to be taken. There has been no such intervention from the Centre and this is a baseless report. All such complaints, as is the normal practice, will be dealt with by the concerned state committee; in this instance, the Kerala State Committee," the PB statement said. With pressure mounting from within the party and from the opposition parties, the leadership will have to take a call on the issue to avoid further complications on such a sensitive matter.
