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Kerala minister may be forced to quit for 'sexual misbehaviour'

D Jose in Thiruvananthapuram

The position of Kerala Transport Minister A Neelalohitadasan Nadar has became vulnerable.

Pressure is mounting on the state government for his removal from the cabinet to pave the way for an impartial inquiry into the charges of sexual misbehaviour levelled against him by former transport secretary Nalini Netto.

The minister, who has been on the offensive following the transfer of Netto to the finance department on February 1, appeared beleaguered after the officer released copies of her complaint to the media.

In her letter, Netto wrote that the minister had tried to outrage her modesty and attempted to molest her after she was summoned to his room in the assembly complex while the house was in session on December 21.

The letter submitted to Chief Minister E K Nayanar on February 9 said that the minister had appeared restless and impatient while he discussed some official matters with her for about five to six minutes.

"He suddenly got up from his seat and lifted both my hands forcefully from across the table towards his face. I instinctively reacted by pulling my hands off," the letter said.

The letter said the minister subsequently charged towards her and attempted to molest her. "I reacted by physically pushing him away from me and then I left the room in a huff," the letter said.

She said that the minister had suggested to her that they could go on tour to Delhi or any other place together. Netto said that the minister had told her that he had been waiting for one year to win her over.

The senior IAS official said that she had gone home after the incident and informed her husband about the same.

She said that she did not lodge a formal complaint as she felt it would tarnish the image of the government. She said that her colleagues, with whom she discussed the matter, were also unanimous in advising her not to raise the issue.

She said that she had been avoiding the minister since then. However, he made an attempt to see her during a conference on January 28, she said. "He summoned me through his PA, which I did not oblige for obvious reasons."

The chief minister has started consultations with his colleagues and the Janata Dal-S leadership, to which the minister belongs, to know their stand on the issue.

Official sources told rediff.com that the government could not sleep over the issue as the central agencies have started an informal inquiry into the allegations.

The IAS Officers' Association, to which Netto belongs, has submitted a memorandum to the chief minister seeking a probe into the incident.

The memorandum, submitted by association president Vinod Rai, pointed out that the government has to keep the minister out of office and order an impartial inquiry as per the 1998 Supreme Court verdict on sexual harassment at workplaces.

A copy of the Supreme Court verdict has also been forwarded to the chief minister.

Meanwhile, various organisations have come forward with the demand for the dismissal of Nadar from the cabinet if he refused to step down from office.

A section of the ruling Communist Party of India-Marxist leaders from Kochi and Thiruvananthapuram have approached party all-India general secretary Harkishan Singh Surjeet to direct the chief minister to remove Nadar from the cabinet.

The JD-S has been studying the situation to finalise its stand on the issue.

Party state president M P Veerendrakumar said he would be able to make his position known by the evening.

Senior JD leader and former minister P R Kurup has already demanded Nadar's resignation. Kurup said that the charge against Nadar was serious and it should be investigated thoroughly.

The Kurup faction, which has been upset with the removal of Kurup from the cabinet earlier, held a demonstration in Thiruvananthapuram yesterday, demanding Nadar's resignation.

The Bharatiya Janata Party and other opposition parties have also demanded the minister's resignation.

The Congress is yet to make its stand clear. However, party leader Shankaranarayan said that the charge was serious and if it is found true stern action should be taken against the minister.

Kerala Stree Vedi, which had launched a crusade against former industry minister and Indian Union Muslim League leader P K Kunhalikutty in the Kozhikode sex scandal, has threatened to launch an agitation if the minister is not removed immediately.

Stree Vedi leaders said in a statement on Friday that the charge against the minister was grave and any leniency shown towards him would encourage others to sexually harass women at workplaces.

Meanwhile, the Yuva Janata Dal has alleged that the charge against the minister has been fabricated by the high caste reservation lobby as the the minister had taken a strong position in the creamy layer case. They alleged that this section was using Netto to ease the minister out of the government.

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