Mangalam TV channel on Sunday exposed the sexually explicit phone conversation that AK Saseendran purportedly made with a woman who had sought his help in a personal matter
The first breaking news of a Malayalam news channel that went to air on Saturday led to the resignation of Kerala Transport Minister AK Saseendran, the lone Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) representative in the CPM-led Pinarayi Vijayan ministry. The Mangalam TV channel on Sunday exposed the sexually explicit telephonic conversation that the 72-year-old minister purportedly made with a woman who had sought his help in a personal matter.
Announcing his resignation at a news conference in Kozhikode, Saseendran said he was innocent and was resigning to keep intact the image of the ministry, the ruling Left Front, his party and his own. This apart, he also said that it was not appropriate for him to remain in the Cabinet if and when an investigation was ordered into the entire affair.
The genuineness of the audio clipping is doubtful. The TV channel that aired audio clipping of lewd conversation between a man and a woman, however, did not come out with other evidence to substantiate its claim. The minister has sought an impartial inquiry into the TV expose. The Chief Minister is expected to order an inquiry into the expose on Monday.
However, the minister failed to field a volley of questions lobbed by journalists at the news conference called to announce his resignation. "He just fumbled to questions,'' said a reporter who attended the conference.
The LDF and NCP sources said that expose could be a conspiracy hatched by his party men. There are two NCP MLAs in the Assembly. Both Saseendran and Thomas Chandy were on the race for one ministerial berth allotted for the party. Since Chief Minister Pinarayi favoured Saseendran, he won the race. Since then Chandy, a leading businessmen enjoying support of the national leadership, had been trying to pull down Saseendran. Even before the result of Assembly election was announced, Chandy declared that he would be the party's minister and would get the portfolio of water resources.
A clean politician, Saseendran is a member of NCP national council and represents the Elathur constituency in Kozhikode district. He had made his debut in the Kerala Assembly in 1980 and returned to the House in 1982, 2006 and 2011. This is his debut as a member of the State Cabinet.
The resignation is yet another blow to the LDF government. Saseendran is the second minister to quit from the 10-month old Pinarayi cabinet. Senior CPM leader EP Jayarajan had quit over allegation of nepotism.
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