Kochi: The Justice Hema Commission report which has shed light on the rampant sexual assault and gender discrimination in the Malayalam film industry has taken a political turn with the opposition Congress seeing in it an opportunity to attack the Pinarayi Vijayan-led government.
The Congress leadership has accused the government of sitting on the report for over four years and in effect shielding the perpetrators while the Youth Congress has moved the police and the State Women’s Commission demanding cases be registered against the persons accused of sexual crimes in the report.
“Among the most shocking allegations is the cruel sexual exploitation of women at film locations as well as incidents involving minors. This is not a report to be celebrated for a few days. The culprits must be identified and their identities revealed. Immediate action should be taken against those responsible for the horrific acts of sexual harassment in the film industry,” Abin Varkey, state vice president of Youth Congress said in his complaint to the state police chief and the women’s panel.
He told Onmanorama that he got a reply that the complaint had been forwarded to the ADGP, law and order.
Soon after the report was released, the opposition leader, V D Satheesan, accused the government of putting the document in ‘cold storage’. On Tuesday, he reiterated the charge, saying the government is with the hunters and not the victims.
“By covering up a series of criminal offences, the government was trying to protect someone who had committed serious crimes. Who put pressure on the government? There is no need to file a fresh complaint to file a case. Such a huge pile of complaints has been in the hands of the government for four and a half years. Yet the government kept it under wraps. Steps should be taken to end exploitation in cinema. An investigation should be conducted under the leadership of women IPS officers and the culprits should be brought to justice,” Satheesan told reporters in Thiruvananthapuram.
He also took a dig at the Minister for Films Saji Cherian saying that the people would judge the minister who is reluctant to take action but is planning to conduct a cinema conclave based on the report. Satheesan was responding to the minister’s statement that the government would hold a conclave involving people working at different levels of the cinema industry in Kochi. He said the government has taken the steps to implement all 24 recommendations in the report and it was kept confidential as per the request of Justice Hema.
State Congress chief president K Sudhakaran MP also came out against the government on Tuesday saying the government's argument that a case cannot be filed based on the Justice Hema Committee report was aimed at protecting abusers.
“The Justice Hema Committee report contains serious findings related to the film sector. The report proved the government's failure to ensure women's safety by sitting on it for so many years. The government has the responsibility to file a case immediately if it notices violence against women,” he said.
The much-awaited Hema Committee report, released on Monday, has recorded explosive accounts of harassment, exploitation, and ill-treatment of female professionals in the film industry and has alleged that a "criminal gang" was controlling the industry where unyielding women are squeezed out.
The main report consisted of 296 pages. Of these, clauses 48 and 49, as well as clauses 165 to 169, were removed on the grounds of affecting privacy. In addition, 61 pages were omitted in various sections after a review by the Department of Culture. It has been stated that these were removed respecting individuals' privacy and personal security.
The Kerala government constituted the panel after the 2017 actress assault case involving actor Dileep to study issues of sexual harassment and gender inequality in Malayalam cinema.
