The Congress on Monday suspended Palakkad MLA Rahul Mamkootathil from the party's membership for six months amid the ongoing sexual misconduct row. KPCC Disciplinary Panel Chairman Thiruvanchoor Radhakrishnan said a meeting was held on Sunday to discuss the course of action.

"It has been decided to suspend Rahul Mamkootathil from the party. The leadership has already made it clear that appropriate action will be taken against him. This is the first step," Thiruvanchoor told Onmanorama. The party will also seek an explanation from Rahul regarding the allegations of inappropriate behaviour raised by women. It is learnt that Rahul has been defiant to a section of party leaders' demand for his resignation, and the suspension is being perceived as a severe punitive action for his alleged misconduct.

The party also hopes to gain a high moral ground by penalising an MLA who faces serious allegations of sexual misconduct. Although a group of leaders initially clung to the contention that there was no case against him, the frequent surfacing of audio clips of his conversations forced the party to act.

Speaking to the media, UDF convenor Adoor Prakash said those who dreamt of Rahul's resignation will be disappointed. "I am not saying he has not made any mistakes. But the claims should be proved," he said. Adoor Prakash added that decisions cannot be made unilaterally and said the party leadership will take it. “If Rahul has made mistakes, they need to be proven. Only then should he resign. As of now, Rahul will not step down,” he said. Prakash further added that accepting a resignation without clarity could create complications.

Congress leader K Muraleedharan said the party suspended the MLA after considering the seriousness of the allegations against him, even though no written complaint has been received so far. “As a democratic party, there is a certain way in which things have to be handled. The issue is being widely discussed in society, and understanding its seriousness, we decided to suspend him,” Muraleedharan said. He added that further action could follow. “One phase was his resignation as Youth Congress president, the second was his suspension. Depending on complaints and responses, there could be a third phase,” he said.

Meanwhile, Minister for Local Self Government, M B Rajesh, criticised the Congress leadership as being hand in glove with Rahul. “Those who raised, promoted, and made him an MLA are now protecting him and his position as well. The Congress leadership should justify how it is fair to keep him as an MLA when he has been removed from the party’s membership,” he said.

BJP state vice president C Krishnakumar said the problem is that a person who misbehaved with women continues to remain as the people’s MLA. "Hours after Congress leaders said Rahul would resign as MLA, they changed their stance. This is purely due to Rahul blackmailing them, he knows several stories of leaders and they don’t want this to come out. If they claim a byelection cannot be imposed on people, then why was Shafi Parambil made to resign and contest in Vadakara?” he asked

Rahul resigned as Youth Congress state president on Thursday following allegations of misconduct from multiple women. Malayalam actor Rini Ann George had earlier accused an unnamed political leader of sending her offensive messages. Soon after, writer Honey Bhaskaran publicly named Rahul in a Facebook post, alleging he had repeatedly sent her unsolicited messages. She said while the initial exchanges were casual, he persisted, and she eventually cut off contact.