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The Congress party has suspended Palakkad MLA Rahul Mamkoottathil, who is facing multiple allegations of sexual harassment and misconduct, from its primary membership. The call for his resignation as Palakkad legislator had gained momentum with several senior leaders of the party signalling that his continuance in the post would harm the Congress.
The party had earlier asked Rahul Mamkoottathil to step down from all Congress party positions, and he had resigned as the chief of the Kerala Youth Congress on August 21.
The party's decision to suspend Rahul came on Monday, August 25, a few days after multiple audio clips, purportedly of Rahul forcing a woman to have an abortion, surfaced in the media. Media reports said Rahul will continue in his MLA post.
On August 24, Congress MLA Uma Thomas, other senior leaders, including Shani Mol Usman, K Muraleedharan and Shama Muhammed, took an open stand against Rahul. KC Venugopal, AICC General Secretary and Alappuzha MP, also dropped hints that Rahul will face action.
Rahul contested the Palakkad Assembly bye-election in November 2024, after Shafi Parambil, the former Palakkad MLA, won the Vadakara Lok Sabha election. He won the election with a huge margin.
Though there were several media reports of allegations of misconduct against Rahul, it flared up after actor and former journalist Rini Ann George alleged that a young politician from Kerala had sent her offensive messages and invited her to a hotel room over three years ago. In the days that followed, several women came forward, accusing him of misconduct and harassment.