Leader of Opposition in the Kerala Assembly V D Satheesan on Thursday said the Congress party will take strict action against any leader facing serious allegations. His remarks came after multiple women accused Palakkad MLA Rahul Mamkootathil of outraging their modesty by sending sexually explicit messages.

"If any serious allegations surface against any leader or member of the Congress, the party will take strict action without favour," Satheesan told reporters.

He confirmed that Malayalam actor Rini Ann George had lodged a complaint with him about inappropriate messages sent by a Congress leader. Satheesan said the party has taken the complaint seriously and will act against the accused after proper verification and investigation.

"The woman who complained is like a daughter to me. She told me she received an inappropriate message from a leader. I will do what any father would do if his daughter faced such an issue. There should be no doubt about that," he said. Satheesan added that there would be no leniency towards the accused and that an exemplary action would be taken.

Responding to questions about earlier allegations against Rahul Mamkootathil, who is also the Youth Congress state president, Satheesan said there had been no previous complaints against him. He added that this was the first time he had come to know about the allegations raised by the actress. "She complained to me only yesterday. I have no knowledge of any previous complaints being lodged," Satheesan said.

He also said that the party would immediately intervene and take action as soon as it becomes aware of any such serious allegations.

Following the allegations raised by Rini, writer Honey Bhaskaran has now come forward with fresh allegations against the MLA. She claimed that Rahul initiated a conversation with her on Instagram and later made derogatory remarks about her to others.

AICC general secretary in charge of Kerala, Deepa Das Munshi, had earlier received complaints from women leaders of the party and asked the state leadership to probe them. Senior leaders felt that shielding Rahul would damage the party’s image ahead of elections. While he will resign as Youth Congress chief, he is expected to continue as MLA.