Congress asks Kerala govt to take action based on Hema Committee report

Thiruvananthapuram/Kochi: The Congress party on Thursday asked the Kerala government to take stern action in connection with the Hema Committee's report on the atrocities against women in the Malayalam film industry.

KPCC president K Sudhakaran told reporters that if the Congress party comes into power in 2026, strict action will be taken against the culprits.

"It cannot be accepted that the committee report, which contains grievous information in connection with various atrocities against women and even minor girls, was kept in abeyance for years," Sudhakaran said in a Facebook post.

He said the decision to keep the report in abeyance for such a long period cannot be justified.

"The Congress demands strict follow-up action on the Hema Committee report," Sudhakaran said.

Leader of the Opposition in the Assembly V D Satheesan claimed that Justice Hema never asked the state government not to release the report.

Satheesan reiterated his earlier allegations and accused the government of protecting the "hunters".

"The Hema committee never asked the government not to release the report but to follow the directions of the Supreme Court while releasing it. The direction of the apex court is not to disclose the names of victims and not against taking action on the report," Satheesan told reporters at Kochi.

Satheesan alleged that the government wants to protect the perpetrators.

He said the government's stand that a case can be registered if someone files a complaint cannot be accepted.

"The proposed cinema conclave will result in the accused taking part in the event along with the survivors. The cinema conclave will be an insult to womanhood," Satheesan said.

Satheesan was referring to a proposed two-day cinema conclave organised by the state government to discuss the issues in the movie industry.

The opposition Congress-led UDF had on Wednesday rejected Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan's claim that Justice Hema had herself requested that the expert panel's report on the film industry not be made public, calling it a 'blatant lie' and 'hypocrisy'.

Meanwhile, state Finance Minister K N Balagopal told the media in New Delhi that the (Hema) committee might have looked into all the legal aspects while recording the statements and submitting the report.

"We have provisions to register cases based on present laws even though a complaint is not filed. We can follow the law. This report contains additional information. This report contains a study on the complaints filed by women artists in the film industry," Balagopal said.

Vijayan had earlier refuted the allegations that his government sat on the Justice Hema Committee report for over four years and said it has given utmost importance to the implementation of the recommendations by the panel.

He said the police have always taken action whenever complaints in connection with the film industry are received and assured that the unconditional support of the government was with the victims.

The Justice Hema Committee report, which has recorded explosive accounts of harassment, exploitation, and ill-treatment of female professionals in the film industry, has triggered a political storm in Kerala.