The CPI(M) state secretariat today urged Chief Minister VS Achuthanandan to order a “comprehensive probe” into the allegation that a member of his Cabinet had pawed a woman co-passenger on a Kingfisher flight from Chennai to Kochi.The Left Cabinet, meeting tomorrow, is expected to take a decision on the probe and also whether the accused minister, PJ Joseph, should be kept out of the ministry during the probe.As pressure built up, Joseph today said he might have “inadvertently” touched the woman’s body, but with no malicious intent. According to him, what happened was his “fingers came into contact with the woman’s body” while he was enjoying the scenery outside as the plane took off. “When the aircraft took off, I held on to the seat in front (where the woman sat) and peered out through the window. The woman’s body might have touched my fingers when I held on to her seat.”According to the minister, the charge that he got up and grabbed the woman in the front seat while the aircraft was taking off, was incredible. “It would obviously need superhuman strength to stand up and grab someone in the front seat when an aircraft is flying at a steep 45 degree angle while taking off,” he maintained.But with the issue snowballing into a political controversy and the Opposition clamouring for a full-fledged probe, a beleaguered Joseph called on VS early morning today and held hectic parleys with leaders of other Left Front constituents, before announcing that he has himself asked the CM to get the issue probed by a senior woman IPS officer. He claimed he would quit politics if the probe indicted him. “I would quit public life if found guilty. If not, those behind this frame up should be exposed,” he said.Joseph alleged that the whole issue was a desperate frame-up engineered by the Congress as well as those who had left his own party, the Kerala Congress (Joseph). He said it was no coincidence that this scandal surfaced immediately after a multi-crore rupee corruption charge against him fell through.KPCC president Ramesh Chennithala took exception to Joseph’s charge against his party, asserting that the Congress would not stoop to that level. Opposition leader Oommen Chandy slammed the CM’s posture that a probe would be ordered only if the victim made a formal complaint was unacceptable. “We are not going to take political advantage of the situation, but this is a serious allegation,” Chandy said, adding it was up to the CM to decide if he should keep Joseph out of the Cabinet till he was cleared.
