Kurien not to quit, sees political conspiracy behind charges

Unfazed by the victim of the Suryanelli gangrape case sticking to her allegations against him, Rajya Sabha Deputy Chairperson P J Kurien on Tuesday rejected the demand for his resignation.

"No.. What is the use? The allegations raised are already a settled matter by the Supreme Court which had given a final seal on the issue," Kurien told PTI in Thiruvananthapuram.

He was responding to a question on whether he plans to quit the Deputy Chairperson's post following the recent developments in the case.

"If the allegations were new and if it is at inquiry stage, then the question of resignation is relevant. But, here the charges are 17 years old and inquired three times by police, that too both under the governments of Congress-led United Democratic Front and Communist Party of India-Marxist led LDF," Kurien said.

The allegations were also examined and cleared by the Kerala high court and the apex court, he said adding, ‘it is a closed matter’.

Kurien also claimed he had full support of Congress party on the matter. It was a "political conspiracy" by the CPI-M and the motive behind raking up the issue now was Lok Sabha elections in 2014, he charged.

"The CPI-M wants to use the issue during the next polls", Kurien said.