Congress unlikely to act against Kurien in Suryanelli rape case

The Congress is unlikely to take any action against Rajya Sabha deputy chairman P J Kurien, whose name has been dragged into the Suryanelli rape case, a Congress leader said on Monday.

‘There are too many gaps in the fact sheet of the case. We need to ascertain the truth in the matter,’ said a Congress leader on the condition of anonymity.

The Congress may not act against Kurien in the 17-year-old alleged rape case despite knowing that the opposition would raise the issue in the parliament’s budget session starting 21 Feb.

The Congress has been defending Kurien saying the party would like to wait till all the facts in the case are known.

Kurien met Congress chief Sonia Gandhi last week and explained his position.

The Congress has said that Kurien’s name was cleared in the case by the Supreme Court and it was for state investigation agencies or the apex court to make any further observations in the matter.

Kerala chief minister Oommen Chandy has refused to reopen the case.

According to party sources, there is no ‘tolerance’ in the Congress for a serious charge like rape, but a person cannot be ‘hanged’ merely on the basis of an allegation.

‘If this is done without taking all the facts into account, it could set a dangerous trend,’ said a Congress leader.