Minutes after the press conference of Siddique, Association of Malayalam Movie Artists’ (AMMA) general secretary, concluded in Kochi on Friday, actor Jagadish, the organisation’s vice-president, met the media in Thiruvananthapuram and demanded a comprehensive investigation into the K. Hema Committee report.
Though Mr. Jagadish maintained that he is on the same page with AMMA on the issue, many of his comments were in stark contrast to that of Mr. Siddique’s.
‘Should be revealed’
While Mr. Siddique said that the AMMA executive committee will convene to discuss whether to raise the demand for exposing the names of the perpetrators referred to in the report, Mr. Jagadish said that the names of the perpetrators should have been revealed. “Let the names of the accused come out if the High Court allows the same. That would reduce the opportunities for gossip mongers,” he said.
Mr. Siddique and AMMA executive member Jayan Cherthala described the allegations of sexual exploitation in the Hema committee report as “isolated incidents”, but Mr. Jagadish said that it is not right to dismiss the allegations as isolated incidents.
“It is AMMA’s opinion too that even if these are isolated incidents, these have to be investigated and the perpetrators punished. Even if these are incidents which happened years ago, we have to act on them so that such incidents are prevented in the future. We should not be saying that such incidents are common in other industries too. Such arguments are not relevant and do not have a place in a civilised society,” he said.
He said that it would be a painful experience for the survivors to recount the experiences they faced, which they have already shared with the Hema committee. Case should be charged if they are remaining strong on their allegations. The AMMA would take action against anyone who are charged with such atrocities, he said.
Published - August 23, 2024 09:05 pm IST
