Hema Committee report sparks controversy as Kerala govt faces backlash for inaction

Thiruvananthapuram: The Justice Hema Committee report, which exposed the shocking harassment and sexual exploitation faced by women in the Malayalam film industry, sparked a political storm in Kerala on Tuesday.

While the Opposition parties criticised the Left government for its silence and inaction over the past four years, despite receiving the report, the government affirmed its support for the victims.

The Congress-led UDF questioned whether the government had kept the report confidential to shield the accused and alleged the Pinarayi Vijayan government was siding with the ‘hunters’ rather than the hapless victims.

Coming down heavily on the government and Cultural affairs minister Saji Cheriyan, the BJP charged they had failed to take any legal action against the accused despite receiving information about the crimes committed by them.

However, the government rejected the charges and made it clear that they had already started measures to implement the recommendations and suggestions made by the Committee.

“The government is always with the victims...and with the women community,” Saji Cheriyan said.

Stating that no particular name has been heard in connection with the report, the minister said it was the high court and the Information Commission that had decided which portions were to be released.

“It was Justice Hema who had first said that the report should not have been published because of its confidential nature,” the minister said, adding that a proposed cinema conclave, to be organised by the government, would discuss all these issues.

However, the minister’s reply didn’t go down well with the Opposition Congress and BJP, which raised suspicions about whether the government had kept the report confidential so far to protect the accused.

Congress Working Committee (CWC) member Shashi Tharoor on Tuesday came down heavily against the Kerala government for not acting on the Justice Hema Committee report, which according to him was a “smoking gun” that everyone ignored.

He said it was absolutely indispensable that action be taken on the basis of the report. “The state government, frankly, ought to be ashamed of itself,” Tharoor said.