The Kerala government has announced a judicial enquiry into the allegation that former Transport minister A K Saseendran had asked sexual favours from a woman. On Sunday, a new Malayalam channel aired an audio clip where a man could be heard speaking with a woman. The channel alleged that the voice was that of Saseendran, and that he had called the woman and asked her for sexual favours, after she came to him asking for help.
The decision to commence a judicial enquiry was announced by Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan in a press meet in Thiruvanathapuram on Monday afternoon. The CM announced this after a meeting with his cabinet colleagues. Saseendran had resigned on Sunday after Mangalam television channel aired the audio clip. The Chief Minister echoed Saseendran’s statement that the resignation does not imply a ‘confession’.
“The minister resigned on moral grounds. It didn’t mean that he did anything wrong,” Pinarayi said. The cabinet will later decide who will head the judicial enquiry. Few days ago, MLA Anil Akkara had told the Assembly that the state police had been tapping phones of political leaders including that of the Chief Minister. When asked about this allegation, the Chief Minister said that it would be examined as a separate issue.
Within hours of the channel’s first telecast, the minister had convened a press meet in Kozhikode to announce his resignation. He had also denied any wrong doing. He maintained that his resignation was to uphold political morality and that the Chief Minister hadn’t forced him to resign. Saseendran was the second LDF minister to step down owing to controversies. Few months ago, Sports minister Jayarajan was forced to resign over allegations of nepotism.