Palakkad (Kerala) | The Congress on Saturday expelled a councillor of the Palakkad Municipality from the party following a sexual assault complaint against him.
Palakkad District Congress Committee (DCC) president A Thankappan said that Prashob C Valsan, a councillor from the 24th division, was removed from the party after reports of the incident surfaced.
"We came to know about the incident through media reports. Soon after, we expelled him from the party," Thankappan told reporters.
On his continuation as a councillor, Thankappan said the party has no authority to act on that front.
"He may resign from the councillor post on moral grounds, but that is his decision. The party is also conducting an internal inquiry. We did not receive any formal complaint, but still decided to remove him," he said.
The DCC president also asserted that the incident would not affect the party's prospects in the upcoming elections, stating that Prashob was not a prominent leader.
Meanwhile, police are expected to record the complainant's statement before registering a case.
The woman, who belongs to a Scheduled Tribe community, has alleged that the councillor sexually assaulted her multiple times on the promise of arranging a stable job and later pressured her to terminate the pregnancy.
She has lodged complaints with the police and the chief minister.
The BJP and the ruling LDF have criticised the Congress over the issue, alleging that Prashob is a close aide of sitting MLA Rahul Mamkootathil, who they claim is facing sexual assault cases and had been arrested earlier.
