Congress failed to foresee Mamkootathil reckoning
The Congress in Kerala has finally expelled its disgraced MLA, Rahul Mamkootathil—an action taken only after every other option had collapsed. The young legislator from Palakkad, now absconding, faces grave allegations of rape, sexual harassment, and other serious offences. That the party acted at all may look stern and decisive, but the truth is uncomfortable: this decision should have come the moment credible complaints surfaced, not at the tail end of a crisis.
What should have guided the Congress leadership is not electoral calculus, but the seriousness of the accusations and the repeated red flags raised by women in the party. Instead, the leadership allowed the matter to fester. By shielding Mamkootathil and allowing him to operate as usual—even after multiple allegations of sexual misconduct came to light—the party ended up signalling that political convenience mattered more than institutional integrity. That failure has now compounded the damage, giving rivals the space to craft narratives during an ongoing local body election season and possibly affecting the assembly polls due in four months.
The Congress has only itself to blame. For months, complaints—some informal, others detailed—were brushed aside. Even when the party suspended Mamkootathil in August, it did so reluctantly, insisting that no further action was possible without a formal complaint, even as a powerful faction continued to shield him. The MLA remained active in party events, and little changed for him or his patrons.
The reluctance persisted even after the police booked him for rape and forced abortion. A second woman’s detailed complaint finally sharpened the internal demands for expulsion. Yet, the leadership waited until a Thiruvananthapuram court denied him anticipatory bail noting prima facie evidence of serious offences. To project moral high ground now is, therefore, unconvincing.
The Congress leadership in Kerala not only mishandled a grave matter of sexual misconduct, but also allowed political considerations to eclipse basic responsibility. In doing so, it has weakened its standing and handed its rivals an avoidable advantage. The reckoning was inevitable; the lack of foresight and firmness were not.