Congress Expels Kerala Leader Who Alleged 'Sponsorship' Needed For Women To Rise In Party Ranks

"The leader made the allegations with an objective to defame and mentally harass lakhs of women leaders and workers of the Congress," the Kerala Congress daid.

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Congress leader Simi Rosebell John was expelled from the grand old party on Sunday after claiming that women leaders require "sponsorship" from party leaders to advance in the ranks. The Kerala Pradesh Congress Committee (KPCC) said in a statement that disciplinary action was taken because the party believed John's actions were a serious breach of discipline.

Women leaders of the KPCC's political affairs committee, female PCC office-bearers, and the Mahila Congress chief all filed a joint complaint with the party leadership to take action against John, a former AICC member, according to the statement. According to the statement, Congress's Kerala unit president K Sudhakaran took action against Simi Rosebell John as a result of this.

The leader made the allegations with an objective to defame and mentally harass lakhs of women leaders and workers of the Congress, the party leadership further charged.

In her reply to the charges by the Congress, Simi Rose Bell John in a news conference in Kochi lashed out at the Congress. The woman leader said women of dignity and pride cannot work in the Congress party.

If the party leadership has any evidence to prove their allegations, it should be released, she told reporters in Kochi. "Thus, they have expelled a person who has worked for the party for a long time. They should explain the reason for their action. If they are alleging conspiracy with the CPI(M), they should release evidence for that," John said.

Rosebell, in her recent interview to a TV channel, had made these allegations and had claimed that those not in the good books of party leaders, like Satheesan, are sidelined. She had also alleged that she was denied certain opportunities in the party due to the objections of leaders like Satheesan and Hibi Eden.

In view of her allegations, the ruling CPI(M) on Saturday took a dig at the Congress by claiming that the grand old party has a "power group" similar to the one allegedly in the film industry. The Kerala film industry has been rocked with comparable claims of sexual harassment, coinciding with the controversy.

Unsettling stories of sexual assault and intimidation suffered by women employed in the Malayalam film industry were exposed last week when a portion of the Hema Committee report was made public. More women have come forward to share their own terrifying experiences since the publication of the report.