P Rajeeve has said that WCC has recommended not to publish the Hema Committee report.Kerala Minister for Law, Industries and Coir, P Rajeeve has said that WCC has recommended not to publish the Hema Committee report which was constituted by the Kerala government to study the problems faced by women in the Malayalam film industry. The minister was talking at the Idea Exchange program conducted by The Indian Express in Delhi.
The minister said that WCC did not want the committee report to be published but wanted the recommendations mentioned by the committee to be implemented. “Justice Hema Committee Report was not tabled in the assembly as the committee was not appointed as per the Commissions of Inquiry Act, 1952. The identity of individuals who gave testimonies before the committee cannot be revealed and WCC also supported this decision of the government and the Hema committee. The priority is to implement the recommendations made by the committee,” said P Rajeeve.
However, WCC has refuted Rajeeve’s claim and took to Facebook to share a letter sent to the minister. The letter read, “When we observed that in spite of so much money, time and effort spent on the report there was no action, WCC approached various government agencies. We raised our voices and concerns regarding the silence from the side of the government. It is not enough to produce recommendations without the context of the findings. The case studies (removing the names and other details of the survivors) which have led to these recommendations must be known. Setting up committees and discussions on the recommendations is not enough. The public needs to know the basis on which these recommendations have been made. It is also important that we know if the Hema Committee has endorsed these recommendations.” WCC in their post also said that they will be participating in the meeting called by Cultural Affairs minister Saji Cherian on May 4 regarding the implementation of Hema Committee recommendations in the film industry.
Meanwhile, Minister Saji Cherian also backed P Rajeeve by saying that the Hema Committee report can never be published as Justice Hema herself has asked the government to not publish the report to protect the identity of individuals who gave testimonies before the committee.
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Jutice Hema Committee report was submitted to the government on December 30, 2019. Media and WCC have pressurised the government to publish the committee report since then, but to no avail.
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