Kerala: Priyanka Gandhi gets a new family to care for

Newly elected Wayanad MP Priyanka Gandhi appears to be wasting no time easing into her role as elected representative in the Lok Sabha of the North Kerala constituency. Manorama Online reports that she is already scouting for a home-cum-office in the hilly district. The Congress leader, who polled 6.22 lakh votes, defeated her CPM rival by a margin of over 4 lakh votes, outdoing her brother Rahul who vacated the seat as he decided to retain the Amethi Lok Sabha seat in UP.

Rahul Gandhi never acquired a residence as MP from Wayanad, leading to derisive remarks about being a “tourist”. Priyanka wants to ensure that she is seen as a people’s leader in Wayanad. On her first visit to her constituency after being sworn in, she told the people of Wayanad that the doors of her home and office would always be open to them.

Reports said that she is looking for a set-up like the one she organised for her mother Sonia Gandhi in Raebareli. Informed sources indicated that she would be looking out for an independent farmhouse or estate bungalow which would double as an office. Wayanad is dotted with tea plantations, most of which house an estate bungalow for their owners or managers, so the idea makes sense. The residence is likely to be in or around Kalpetta, the district headquarters, and will have camp space for her security personnel and aides, visitors’ quarters and a conference hall.

District Congress leaders said that soon after her election victory, they had communicated a request that Priyanka Gandhi set up locally, to which she readily agreed. Having a base here, they added, would also help her constituents to meet her in person and air their grievances, if any.

During her two-day visit, she addressed several public meetings in locations as far-flung as Thiruvambady in Kozhikode district, Nilambur in Malappuram district (both of which come under the Wayanad parliamentary constituency) as well as Mananthavady, Kalpetta and Sultan Bathery in Wayanad district. During the rally on 30 November, she thanked the people, and struck an emotional chord when she expressed her joy at being part of their family. Their vote, she said, was not just a vote but a bond of love, trust and shared values.

On Sunday, 1 December, as part of her road show in an open vehicle, the MP thanked the voters for reposing their confidence in her, and reaffirmed that she would stand shoulder to shoulder with them and fight for their interests. She said, “We are fighting for the spirit, the ‘very soul’ of India” against a force bent upon destroying the institutions of democracy on which the country is built. She was accompanied by the Leader of the Opposition, Rahul Gandhi.

At every halt along her roadshow, Priyanka Gandhi was greeted by large crowds, something that was evident even during her pre-election campaigning. She connected with the people, assuring them that she would visit more often, and meet them in their homes. “This is just the beginning,” she said, “I want to meet all of you and find solutions to your problems.”

Actor pulls back on testimony to the Hema Committee

Malayalam actor Maala Parvathi has back-pedalled on her testimony to the Hema Committee (set up to look into allegations of sexual exploitation and the casting couch in the Kerala film industry).

In a Facebook post in Malayalam, she says that trusting the committee was a mistake and that her testimony was not intended to file charges or accuse anyone of wrongdoing. The committee had given no warning that it would seek to identify the perpetrators and initiate legal action against them. If she had known this, she said, she would certainly not have deposed before it.

In her post, she wrote: ‘Not everything can be judged as right and wrong. I believe there is value in not causing pain to those we respect or hold dear. Society may judge me differently for this stance. I may not belong among those fighting grander battles or participating in larger struggles. Let this be my failing.’

Earlier, she had moved the Supreme Court, charging that the special investigation team (SIT) formed by the government was targeting women who had given statements to the Hema Committee.

Maala Parvathi said she had spoken to the three-member committee about her experience and shared observations about potential dangers and solutions. She said she had spoken on the assumption that no actual names or references would be revealed, which turned out not to be the case.

The actor was especially concerned about the POCSO (Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act) cases in the report, which would inevitably lead to prosecution in the courts. She said she has told the SIT she was not interested in pursuing any cases. Despite that, several individuals had been called for questioning by the police on the basis of her statements.

The Women in Cinema Collective (WCC) has opposed her petition to the Supreme Court to withdraw the probe.

Murder or suicide?

The Kerala High Court has rejected a petition by Manjusha seeking a CBI probe into the death of her husband, additional district magistrate Naveen Babu. ADM Naveen Babu was found hanging in his official quarters after being publicly accused of corruption by P.P. Divya, former panchayat president of Kannur district and a rising star in the CPM.

Naveen Babu, an officer with an excellent reputation, was being transferred from Kannur to Pathanamthitta district. During the farewell organised for him, where the district collector was present, Divya, uninvited, took the microphone and accused Babu of taking a bribe to grant a permit for a gas station. After the event, Babu went back to his quarters where he is reported to have killed himself.

Divya went into hiding and was arrested after 13 days. Media and public pressure led to a case of abetment to suicide being filed against her. Naveen Babu’s wife Manjusha, herself a tehsildar, alleges that the district collector and the police are trying to block a serious inquiry into the hanging, which she says may have been homicide.

Following Manjusha’s petition, the Kerala High Court asked the police to collect the call details of those linked to the case, including Arun K. Vijayan, the Kannur collector.

Was it murder or suicide? The mystery remains.