Thiruvananthapuram: Senior Congress leader K Muraleedharan called Palakkad MLA Rahul Mamkoottathil, who has been booked in a rape case, a 'closed chapter' for the Congress, signifying that party leaders are distancing themselves from the disgraced legislator. 

Addressing the media here on Wednesday, he asked Rahul's supporters to leave the party with him. The former MP noted that the Congress was no longer obligated to protect Rahul and added that the party leadership would soon announce its decision.

The MLA is on the run after Nemom Police booked him in a rape case. 

Muraleedharan declared his stance a day after KPCC president Sunny Joseph received a fresh complaint against the MLA. In the complaint, a young woman alleged that Rahul sexually assaulted her at a homestay. She also mentioned Rahul's close aide, Fenny Ninan, accompanied him. 

‘It’s time to use the Brahmastra’ said Muraleedharan hinting at expulsion of the rape accused from the party.

Addressing the media in Kochi, Ernakulam MP Hibi Eden said that the Congress leadership had suspended Rahul from the party even before receiving a complaint against him. The party had suspended him in August after some women accused the MLA of sexual misconduct. Following this, the Crime Branch had booked him on charges including stalking and harassing women on social media.

Women leaders Bindhu Krishna and Rajya Sabha MP Jebi Mather echoed Hibi Eden's claim, asserting that the Congress has always maintained a women-friendly position. Speaking to the media in New Delhi, Jebi said that the party would take an appropriate decision and that the KPCC president would announce it.

As more Congress leaders distanced themselves from the Palakkad MLA, speculation is rising that he may be expelled from the party soon.

Senior Congress leader and former minister Thiruvanchoor Radhakrishnan stated that the party would not support leaders with weak moral standing. He expressed hope that Congress would take stern action against the MLA, setting an example for other parties. Thiruvanchoor is a member of the party’s disciplinary committee.

Party leaders opined that the rape allegations against Rahul could damage the Congress in the upcoming local body and Assembly elections.

Meanwhile, the Thiruvananthapuram District Sessions Court on Wednesday will consider the MLA's anticipatory bail plea in the rape case registered at the Nemom police station.