Kerala MLA Rahul Mamkootathil gives no definitive answer concerning calls for his resignation on grounds of sexual misconduct

Congress leader Rahul Mamkootathil, MLA, on Sunday (August 24, 2025) gave no definite answer concerning bipartisan political calls for his resignation following accusations of sexual misconduct.

Emerging out of an almost hermitic existence, Mr. Mamkootathil, nevertheless, told a hastily arranged press conference at his residence in Adoor in Pathanamthitta that he did not desire to push the Congress into a political purgatory and that the Congress workers “should not hang their heads in shame” because of him.

Facing a volley of combative questions from journalists who have been on a stakeout outside his house for several days, Mr. Mamkootathil said the startling accusations had rendered him a recluse briefly. “I am also a human being with friends and family. Scores of party workers called me, some critical, others supportive and several deeply saddened,” he said.

However, Mr. Mamkootathil disregarded questions concerning his visit to his Assembly constituency in Palakkad, where the MLA faces a threat of boycott by the Communist Party of India (Marxist) [CPI(M)] and Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) workers.

Broadcasting scepticism about the accusations of inappropriate behaviour swirling around him, Mr. Mamkootathil sought to make a case in his defence by airing audio clips and WhatsApp chats he ostensibly had with one of the alleged victims, a transgender person. 

Mr. Mamkootathil alleged that a television news journalist had contacted his “transgender friend.” He alleged that the newsperson queried whether the person had any complaints about the legislator’s behaviour. He accused the journalist of asking leading questions about their friendship to ensnare him in a sexual misconduct conspiracy. 

Mr. Mamkootathil said the allegations that surfaced later concerning his alleged misbehaviour towards the transgender person baffled him.

He reasoned that his stature as a frontline defender of the Congress had made him a magnet for political enemies. 

He argued that he was at the vanguard of the Congress’s anti-government street protests, making him a target of political enemies. “I was the party’s bulwark and spear tip on conventional and social media,” he added. 

Mr. Mamkootathil stated that he did not desire to bring infamy to the Congress and the party’s rank and file. “I will not allow political rivals to haul my party over the coals on my account. I will explain myself in the court of the people and the judiciary,” he said.