LoP Satheesan says Kerala CM lied to hold release of Hema Committee report

Thiruvananthapuram: Leader of Opposition in Kerala Assembly V. D. Satheesan on Wednesday said that Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan has blatantly lied for not releasing the explosive report of Justice (retd) Hema Committee on the condition and sexual exploitation of women in Malayalam film industry.

It was on Monday that the Hema Committee report was put out after a long-drawn legal battle.

Satheesan said that people are surprised by the reason Vijayan gave on Tuesday: “It was Justice Hema herself who wrote to the state government in 2020, quoting the apex court guidelines not to name the people in the report as it is private information and it has to be kept extra confidential. The state government had no role in this.”

Satheesan slammed Vijayan, telling him to not take people for a ride as all know that the apex court directive is that the names of the victims should not be disclosed.

“Who doesn’t know that and that’s what Justice Hema has informed the Vijayan government through a letter. So this clearly shows that Vijayan and the state government have an agenda to not disclose the names of the accused. The CPI-M is always known for shielding wrongdoers if they are close to the CPI-M,” said Satheesan.

“Hema has never ever said to not release the report, she said that if the report is released, it should be as per the apex court's directives. Moreover, Section 21 of the POCSO Act clearly states that if anyone after coming to know about an incident fails to report or take appropriate action, then they are liable to be jailed. In this case, the report clearly states the violation that has taken place, but Vijayan nor the previous State Minister of Films, A. K. Balan who received the report, and the present Minister Saji Cherian failed to act,” added Satheesan.

What has now become a joke is that Vijayan says that the government will hold a cinema conclave, and what is hilarious is that the victims, the accused and all others will sit and discuss.

“We are clear, we want the wrongdoers to be brought before the law. We demand a probe by a team of the Kerala Police headed by a lady IPS officer. It’s a criminal act that with the entire evidence in a pen drive, Vijayan says that there is no complaint. We will not sit idle, we will wait for a while to see what action is coming; if not, we will take appropriate steps,” added Satheesan.

“We wish to remind Vijayan that he has a legal obligation and he has to do it,” said Satheesan.