The agitation by the Pengal Otrumai was started with no purpose and will end the same way, Electricity Minister M.M. Mani has said.
Mr. Mani told The Hindu here on Sunday that in his ‘controversial’ speech he had never made any comments against women. ‘‘There is no public support for the agitation and that is the reason for withdrawing the hunger stir,’’ he said.
The agitation was sponsored by the Congress, BJP and Aam Aadmi Party. Even the Congress local leadership was not supporting it, he said adding that he had ‘‘no role and let them continue or discontinue the agitation.’’
Mr. Mani came down heavily on the Congress leaders and said the party had not so far recovered from the shock it had received in the solar scandal. He alleged that Congress leaders K.C. Venugopal and P. Vishnunath were accused in sex scandal cases. Still, they got promotions within the party. It was this culture the party followed, Mr. Mani said.
All those who were in the jail in connection with the Suryanelli sex scandal case were Congress leaders and supporters, Mr. Mani said.
"It was the Nayanar government which took the initiative to compensate the victim and provided job in the government service, though the incident occurred during the United Democratic Front (UDF) rule. He challenged the Congress to point out any leader in the CPI(M) or CPI who were involved in sex cases.
In the office of the Congress at Nilambur, a woman working there had been brutally killed by the party men, Mr. Mani said and asked whether the Mahila Congress leaders had come out for protecting the right of women then?
He asked how those who had kept mum then were voicing for the right of women in Munnar?
He said Congress MP Shashi Tharoor could not come clean on the death of his wife. If the party was trying to raise the agitation by Pengal Otrumai as an issue on affront on women, it should have the sincerity to do so, Mr. Mani said.
