The issue came to light when the woman was admitted to hospital following a near-fatal overdose of painkillers. A case has been registered against the Congress MLA on the basis of the woman’s statement recorded by a magistrate, who visited the victim.

According to the police, the woman and her husband had approached the MLA to seek protection from a man who constantly harassed her. Subsequently, the MLA struck up a non-consensual relationship with the woman, which climaxed in she being sexually abused at her home repeatedly. The harried woman then told a local priest and mother superior of the sexual harassment. The MLA had, according to the police, called the woman over 900 times at odd hours over the past months.

The MLA, on his part, has accused the CPI(M) of being behind the conspiracy to implicate him in a criminal case.

The unsavoury incident has put Congress, on a comeback trail, completely on the defensive. KPCC president M M Hassan has since removed Vincent from all party positions till he proves innocence in the court. He, however, rejected the demand for Vincent’s resignation as MLA on the ground that there is no such precedent, adding that the CPI(M) always protected those who faced similar and more serious charges.

The incident has, however, divided the party with factionalism getting a fresh lease of life. Vincent belongs to the A group led by former chief minister Oommen Chandy, who lent him strong support. There was no need for him to quit the MLA post, Chandy said. His position is at sharp variance with leaders belonging to the I group. In fact, the A group feels that the action against the MLA was too strong, and that the party should have adopted a wait-and-watch attitude.

The issue also found the Mahila Congress led by Bindu Krishna taking a hard line stance. The Mahila Congress wants Vincent to resign as MLA.

The KPCC, however, is not inclined to seek the MLA’s resignation as the party does not want to force a by-election by getting Vincent, who represents Kovalam constituency, to quit. In fact, reports have it that the women MLAs are under pressure to tone down their criticism in this regard. But, the women legislators are said to be in no mood to soften their stance.

Meanwhile, Congress is trying to build up an agitation against the government on the issue. The protests took an ugly turn with party activists hitting the streets in Vincent’s constituency, accusing the government of arresting him on trumped up charges. The protest saw senior leaders Oommen Chandy and leader of the opposition Ramesh Chennithala lending full support to it. The duo also expressed solidarity with Vincent by calling on his family.

Be that as it may, it needs to be said that the whole incident has left the Congress red-faced. The party leaders who never lost an opportunity to demand the resignation of CPI(M) MLAs and others facing similar charges, have exposed themselves to the charge of adopting double standards. A section of the party MLAs is also contemplating to approach the Congress High Command to apprise it of the developments, which, they feel, could affect the party’s determined efforts to recover ground lost owing to the debacle in the last assembly elections. (IPA Service)