BJYM march against CPI(M) MLA accused by DYFI woman leader of trying to sexually abuse her

Activists of BJP's youth wing in Kerala took out a march on Wednesday against CPI(M) MLA P K Sasi, who has been accused by a woman DYFI leader of trying to sexually abusing her, and demanded his resignation.

A day after CPI(M) General Secretary Sitaram Yechury said the party has initiated a probe into the complaint, around 50 Bharatiya Janata Yuva Morcha (BYJM) workers, started marching towards the residence of the legislator at Kulikkiliyad in Palakkad district, raising slogans against him and demanding that he resign and face the law.

However, the protesters were stopped midway and booked for unlawful assembly, police said.

As the opposition Congress and the BJP pounced on the issue and demanded the resignation of the MLA, state minister E P Jayarajan on Wednesday maintained that it was a party matter and declined to answer questions from reporters on the issue.

"It (the complaint) has not come to us. You should ask the party secretary," Jayarajan, presiding over cabinet meetings in the absence of Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan, now in the US for treatment, said here.

The CPI(M) heading the ruling LDF alliance has initiated the probe after the leader of the Democratic Youth Federation of India (DYFI), the youth wing of the Marxist party, sent a complaint to its central leadership last month alleging that the MLA had attempted to sexually abuse her.

The issue came to fore Tuesday when Yechury told reporters in New Delhi that he had received the complaint.

"Yes, I have received the complaint yesterday and it has been forwarded to the Kerala unit (of the party). They have started enquiry proceedings into it. That is our usual practice," he had said.

BJP's state unit president P S Sreedharan Pillai alleged that the CPI(M) leadership tried to hush up the matter.

Kerala Women's Commission chairperson M C Josephine said the panel had not received any complaint on the matter.

The party and the commission were two separate entities, she told reporters, indicating that the panel cannot launch proceedings based on the complaint received by the party.

The woman had sent the complaint to CPI(M) politburo member Brinda Karat on August 14 and a copy e-mailed to Yechury. The accused MLA has described the complaint a "well planned conspiracy" to malign him politically.