Now woman Congress leader speaks out against Rahul Mamkootathil: ‘He suggested a trip together… My warning about him was rejected with contempt’

This is the first time that Mamkootathil has faced an allegation from within the Congress camp; the two rape cases registered in the last seven days are based on testimonies of women whom the MLA allegedly befriended on social media.

Shahanas, in a post on Facebook, claimed she had warned Congress MP Shafi Parambil when Mamkootathil was made the Youth Congress state president. Mamkootathil succeeded Parambil as Youth Congress state chief in 2023.

“I told him that the Youth Congress is a space where a lot of women have to work. When such a person is made its president, our women will be exploited. I had pleaded that for our girls to have an atmosphere to work in the Congress, a person like Mamkootathil should not be made YC president. But my warning was rejected with contempt,” she claimed.

Later, speaking to the media, she claimed that Mamkootathil had messaged her, saying that he wanted her to join him for a journey to Delhi. “When I returned after taking part in the farmers’ agitation in Delhi, Mamkootathil asked me why he was not informed about the journey. When I told him that I was ready to go again, Mamkootathil said he was referring to a trip with him. Women Congress leaders have a clear idea about Mamkootathil,” she claimed.

Meanwhile, a district sessions court in Thiruvananthapuram on Wednesday considered the pre-arrest bail plea of Mamkootathil, who has allegedly gone into hiding after police booked him for raping a woman and forcing her to undergo an abortion. The court will pronounce its verdict on the plea on Thursday. Police also registered a second rape case against Mamkootahil following a complaint from a 23-year-old woman, who alleged that the leader had exploited her after promising to marry her.

As the scandal around the suspended party MLA thickened over the past week, several senior Congress leaders have suggested that Mamkootathil be dismissed from the party. However, KPCC president Sunny Joseph said the party had suspended him soon after the allegation emerged in August, and removed him from the parliamentary party, which was communicated to the assembly speaker. “Further action will be taken at an apt time,” he said.