Sleaze phone leak: Resignation of minister leaves many questions behind
- The most intriguing question is whether the 'woman' involved in the conversation had any complaints against Saseendran.
FollowAfter submitting his resignation as Transport Minister, senior NCP legislator AK Saseendran demanded the Chief Minister to bring out the truth behind the news of sleaze phone call leak allegedly involving the politician. Interestingly, the former minister did not cry a conspiracy behind the incident and file a complaint so far.
"Let the inquiry take place to bring the truth behind it," Saseendran said. "There is something suspicious around the news report. My first priority is to prove my innocence," he added.
Related: Sleaze talk: Kerala Minister Saseendran quits, says resignation is not a confession
Within hours after the television channel aired the phone-conversation, Saseendran announced his resignation, to 'uphold political morality.' He sent his resignation letter to the Chief Minister on Sunday and met Pinarayi Vijayan on Monday morning. But some questions surrounding the controversy remain unanswered.
- The most intriguing question is whether the 'woman' involved in the conversation had any complaints against Saseendran. No one has come up with a complaint against the former minister so far.
- Was the conversation consensual or was it a honey trap?
- Saseendran said he was innocent. But he did not question the veracity of the audio clip. He evaded questions about the sound clip. The former minister did not complain that it was a trap.
- The police say that an investigation is not possible in the absence of a complaint. Retired SP Subhash said that there were no legal restrictions before the police to take a suo-moto case.
- Legal experts say that Saseendran has all the right to slap a defamation case against the television channel. But the former minister has not said anything against the television channel that aired the scandalous news.
- But if the woman comes up with a complaint against the NCP legislator, the police will have to take case against him.
- Is the conversation aired by the channel just the tip of the ice-berg?
The Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) is also confused by the embarrassing exit of its lone minister. The party said it was a conspiracy but stopped short of demanding the kind of investigation it would prefer in the controversy. State President Uzhavoor Vijayan said that the party would give all support to Saseendran. "The state committee meeting of the party on Tuesday will decide on the future course of action," he said.
The NCP is now grappling with another question: who will be the next ministerial candidate from the party? The party has only two MLAs including Saseendran. The natural choice is Thomas Chandy MLA. But the internal bickering in the party poses a hurdle before legislator from Kuttanad. It is widely rumoured that the Chief Minister would keep the transport portfolio for the time being.
