#Ajayan
The Hema Committee report has thrust the State Government into a defensive posture, not merely for letting it gather dust for five long years, but for its stubborn refusal to act even now, despite the report's harrowing accounts of cognizable offences.
The leadership’s blatant denial of party action against a former legislator embroiled in graft, coupled with its indulgence of another lawmaker's public meltdown, has only deepened the quagmire in which the ruling party now finds itself entangled.
The official lip service to the Hema Committee report, the arrogant defiance of a law-flouting legislator and the party’s blind eye to the corruption of a senior leader perpetually lurking in the shadows - all of these paint a picture of a moral decay in Kerala that could make even the most seasoned cynic blush.
The Hema Committee's revelations about the plight of women in cinema were nothing short of shocking. Yet, the reaction from those at the helm was even more appalling. Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan grandly declared that strict action would only follow if an official complaint was filed, as if the mere existence of a Government-appointed committee led by a retired Kerala High Court judge wasn’t enough to warrant concern. The report clearly mentions cognizable offences. The assertion, but refusal to take any proactive measure against Mollywood's sexual predators, lacks commitment.
Culture Minister Saji Cherian, the undisputed virtuoso of foot-in-mouth artistry, didn’t merely parrot his boss’s cold indifference; he elevated it to new heights. With brazen audacity, he suggested that the Government had almost no involvement with the report, as if the State Information Commission had conjured it out of thin air, free from any governmental touch. His selective amnesia conveniently erased the fact that the report was, indeed, submitted to the Chief Minister.
But the piece de resistance has been his grand proclamation of a conclave, where all of Mollywood, including the very predators named in the report, would gather to "smooth things over”. What he conveniently skirts around is the uncomfortable truth that no action may be taken for the crimes already committed. Instead, he is proposing a fresh start, a clean slate, as if the past could be simply erased with a wave of bureaucratic indifference.
When even the newly rechristened criminal law explicitly states that the government can act on its own accord, without the need for a formal complaint, the report leaves no room for doubt. It clearly mandates that "if the in-charge of a police station has reason to suspect the commission of a cognizable offence, which he is empowered to investigate", they are duty-bound to take action. Yet, it seems that this crystal-clear directive is being artfully ignored, as if the law itself were nothing more than a mere suggestion in the grand theatre of governance.
The gut-wrenching stories shared by the actors are more than enough to spur any authority into action—especially a government that proudly dons the communist mantle, supposedly the stalwart defender against all forms of exploitation. Yet, the arrogance of those in power, steadfast in their refusal to acknowledge the rampant inhuman exploitation that has plagued the industry for years, is nothing short of staggering. The Government owes the people a clear explanation—not only for squandering public funds on a committee whose report they now sit on with brazen indifference but also for turning a blind eye to a laundry list of omissions and crimes committed by the so-called 'mafia' pulling the strings of Kerala's film industry. The government's indifference leaves no doubt about where its true allegiances lie. Kerala High Court has asked the government what action it has taken on the report which should make its spokespersons eat their own words.
Yet another stain on the ruling party’s already tarnished reputation is its theatrical pretence of ignorance regarding its actions against former legislator and KTDC chairman, PK Sasi, who has long been shrouded in scandal. Not only does he face charges of graft, but some of the accusations against him earlier bear an uncanny resemblance to the vile treatment of women actors detailed in the Hema Committee report. Despite earlier complaints, the party, in its infinite wisdom, chose to look the other way—the same party leadership that now loudly declares from the rooftops that they’ll take action if any actor dares to file a complaint. And as if this charade wasn’t enough, the leadership now dismisses reports of action against Sasi for graft as mere fabrications.
Another Sasi, now serving as the political secretary to Pinarayi, has his own shadowy past involving charges of outraging woman modesty. Years ago, during a press conference in Ernakulam, then party general secretary Prakash Karat openly admitted that serious accusations had been leveled against P Sasi. When pressed to clarify the nature of these "serious charges", Karat didn't miss a beat, listing offences like "molestation" and "outraging of women's modesty", assuring everyone that the party was dutifully investigating. But, in a move straight out of a political farce, a Delhi-based politburo member from Kerala swooped in the very next day to the same venue, vehemently claiming that Karat had said no such thing and that the media had simply "misconstrued" his words.
Adding insult to injury, a party-backed legislator recently had the audacity to publicly lash out at a senior police official during a function. This same lawmaker, who too seems to suffer from a chronic case of foot-in-mouth disease, has been accused of land-grabbing and blatantly defying a court order concerning a check-dam built in his water theme park. Yet, the party, in its typical fashion, has chosen to turn a blind eye, pretending not to notice the glaring misconduct of its own.
These accumulating scandals have swirled together into a tempest of serious threats to the party, and with each feeble attempt to justify its deliberate ignorance or refusal to take corrective action, it only digs itself deeper into isolation, turning the people's trust into a cruel joke.