Actor Mukesh need not resign as MLA: CPI(M)
Thiruvananthapuram, Aug 31: Throwing its weight behind actor-cum-MLA M Mukesh, the ruling CPI(M) in Kerala on Saturday said that he need not resign from his post as legislator merely because a rape case has been registered against him.
CPI(M) state secretary M V Govindan justified the party decision by pointing out that according to the National Election Watch Report, 16 MPs and 135 MLAs from parties across the country, including from the BJP, Congress, TDP and AAP, were accused of crimes against women but had not resigned as legislators.
"Therefore, there is no need for him to resign from his post as MLA," he said at a press conference here following the party's state committee meeting here during the day.
The Marxist veteran said that even Congress MP Shashi Tharoor said a day ago that every person should be given the opportunity to prove their innocence.
"Mukesh is an accused right now. He has not been found guilty. The two are different. If he is found guilty, then appropriate action would be taken against him. We are not protecting him," Govindan said.
The CPI(M) state secretary asked that if the MLA resigns on moral grounds, then can he be brought back on the same condition if he is proved innocent?
"He can come back as MLA only after being elected and not on moral grounds," he said.
Govindan, however, said the party also decided that Mukesh should not be part of the film-making policy committee and be removed from that in view of the allegations against him.
He said that it was also decided that no special treatment or exemption should be shown to Mukesh during the investigation because he is an MLA of the ruling party.
Govindan further said that by lodging an FIR against a sitting MLA of the government, the Left administration in Kerala has set an example for the country as a whole to follow.
He also said that the Justice Hema Committee, the first of its kind initiative by a state in the country, was constituted as a defence against sexual harassment and exploitation of women in the film industry.
Govindan also said that the government has no need to hurriedly hold a conclave to discuss the issues being faced by women in the film industry.
He said that it will be held after the deliberations by the film policy making committee and receipt of its report.
There have been protests in various parts of the state by the Congress and the BJP and their respective youth and women wings demanding the actor's resignation as MLA.
An FIR under IPC 376 (rape) was registered against the actor at Maradu police station in Kochi city on Wednesday night on the complaint by a woman who has appeared in a handful of movies.
She had alleged that Mukesh sexually assaulted her years ago.
Multiple FIRs have been registered against many high profile Malayalam film personalities following allegations of sexual harassment against various directors and actors in the wake of revelations in the Justice K Hema Committee report.
The Justice Hema Committee was constituted by the Kerala government after the 2017 actress assault case and its report revealing instances of harassment and exploitation of women in the Malayalam cinema industry.
Following the allegations of sexual harassment and exploitation cropping up against several actors and directors, the state government on August 25 announced the establishment of a seven-member special investigation team to probe them.
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FIDE Women's World Cup final: Humpy draws with Divya in first game
Batumi (Georgia), Jul 26 (PTI): Young Indian International Master Divya Deshmukh held her nerves to hold stalwart Koneru Humpy to a draw in game 1 of the FIDE Women's World Cup final, with both players having their share of opportunities to take the lead here on Saturday.
The draw with black means Humpy, the two-time World Rapid champion, holds a slight edge going in the second and final game under the classical chess rules in the two-game mini-match, and should the deadlock continue, games of shorter duration will be played to determine the winner.
Humpy employed the Queen's gambit accepted as black and it turned out to be a pretty fascinating game right out of the opening as Divya, 19, came up with a piece sacrifice early to deny the black king the right to castle.
Humpy was the first to err and, according to computers, Divya had things under control on the 14th move. However in her bid to recover the extra material, the Nagpur girl, who has secured a place in the Candidates tournament with her sterling performance here, missed a promising continuation.
What followed the exchange of all minor pieces and the ensuing queen and rook endgame gave enough counter play to both players. The game was eventually drawn after Humpy sacrificed her rook to force perpetual checks.
"The game saw an extremely sharp battle with the game ending in a draw in 41 moves. On move 7, Divya made her aggressive intentions clear by offering another pawn,
which looked like home preparation. Humpy made a practical decision of refraining from taking the pawn and a balanced position was reached by move 10 by white," said Grandmaster Pravin Thipsay, an Arjuna awardee and the first Indian to get a chess Grandmaster norm.
"However, instead of developing the undeveloped Knight, Humpy retreated the centralised Knight on move 10, giving huge positional advantage to Divya. Divya could have gained huge positional advantage on the 12th move by moving a rook. However, she chose to play for King side attack by sacrificing a piece instead.
"Humpy, too, erred at this stage and instead of moving the King to Queen side, moved it to the King side. Divya, on move 14, could have obtained a crushing attack by threatening a mate by developing her Queen. Instead she chose to exchange a pair of Bishops first, which enabled Humpy to defend her King by returning the piece," said Thipsay.
"Players thus reached a balanced Queen and two Rooks ending. Divya continued to play ambitiously and tried to attack Humpy’s King but the latter defended accurately and the game was drawn in 41 moves by perpetual check," he added.
In the play-off for the third place, Chinese players Zhongyi Tan, the former women's world champion and top seed Lei Tingjie also decided to split points out of a Queen’s gambit declined game.
The opening raised visions of a close contest between the two but having been knocked out of title race in the previous round, none of them wanted to take any huge risk. It was still a middle game when the players shook hands.
With the top two positions sealed for the Indians, the berth to the next Candidates is also assigned, while the player finishing third will also get an entry to the premier event scheduled for 2026.
Results: Divya Deshmukh (Ind) drew with Koneru Humpy (Ind); Zhongyi Tan (Chn) drew with Tingjie Lei (Chn).
