Expelled Congress leader Simi Rose Bell John (File).
Expelled Congress leader Simi Rose Bell John, removed from the party's Kerala unit last week amid claims of a "casting couch" within the state ranks, told NDTV Monday that she will "reach out to Sonia Gandhi" to highlight her allegations. "I am not afraid... I will fight," she declared.
Ms Bell John had said that only those close to the Congress' senior leaders in the southern state get opportunities. On Sunday she was expelled from the party, the state unit of which said her allegations were aimed at harassing and defaming lakhs of other women leaders and workers.
She was acting, it was also claimed, "in collusion with political adversaries".
Ms Bell John hit back, "If they have evidence (of collusion) ... it should be released."
Ms Bell John's accusations come as several senior members of the Malayalam film industry, or Mollywood, face sexual assault charges, including rape. The senior leadership of the industry's top actor's body, Association of Malayalam Movie Actors, or AMMA, including veteran actor Mohanlal, the President, has resigned. One of the accused actors is M Mukesh, a CPIM MLA.
Ms Bell John referenced those accusations in her comment to NDTV, saying she is "fighting for the women of Kerala".
The Congress has been critical of Kerala's ruling CPIM (on paper a member of the Congress-led INDIA opposition bloc and therefore an ally), with the Leader of the Opposition, VD Sathesan, telling reporters today that Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan "provided protection to predators".
"Justice Hema Committee report (released last month) is essentially a series of sexual offences. Many sections were removed as they contained names of influential people. Chief Minister provided protection to predators... leaving even dignitaries under shadow of suspicion," he told reporters.
However, the party has come under fire of its own over the allegations by Ms Bell John.
Senior BJP leader and ex Union Minister Rajeev Chandrasekhar accused them of double standards when top leaders like Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi flag crimes against women and protecting women's dignities, but "... in their own party there are people looking for justice".
"This is a very shameful example of what the Congress really is... there is a woman leader who says 'I want justice... I was harassed.' But the complaint is not investigated... nobody holds an investigation to give her justice. Instead, she is dismissed. This is the true colour of Congress."
"The people of India should know the truth about the Congress... about how they speak one thing before elections and do exactly the opposite after an election..."
The Congress has not yet responded to Mr Chandrasekhar's attack.
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