New Delhi: Congress Wednesday reacted cautiously on the demand for resignation of Rajya Sabha Deputy Chairperson P J Kurien and a fresh probe into his alleged involvement in the Suryanelli gang-rape case.
"Party will consider what are the allegations and how serious are the charges and then will take a view (on the matter)," a senior party leader said requesting anonymity.
At the AICC briefing, party spokesman Rashid Alvi said the party does not make any comments on sub-judice matters.
"Let us wait for the order. Government is bound to follow what is the order," he said when asked on Kurien`s fate in wake of fresh revelations in the episode.
The AICC`s reaction came on a day when Kerala`s CPI(M)- led LDF stepped up protests within and outside the state assembly demanding a fresh probe in the matter.
LDF members led by opposition leader V S Achuthanadan upped the ante against UDF government`s refusal to order a fresh probe, while pro-LDF women outfits took out a march to the Kerala Assembly.
The LDF has been pressing the demand for re-investigation in the light of recent turns in the 1996 Suryanelli case, including the Supreme Court invalidating the Kerala High Court`s verdict acquitting 35 accused in the case.
An unfazed Kurien has all along rejected the charge and the demand for his resignation, saying it was a matter which had already been cleared by the Supreme Court.
PTI
