CPM hits back, says Kurien telling ‘half truths and lies’

Hitting back at P J Kurien, who has accused the party of propagating falsehood against him, the CPM on Friday alleged that he was "telling half truths and lies", but indicated it would not move a resolution seeking his removal as deputy chairman of the Rajya Sabha.

In an attempt to keep the issue alive, the CPM came out with a detailed rebuttal to Kurien's claims of innocence. It said the letter circulated among members of the Upper House defending Kurien was "a clever attempt to conceal key facts of the case and to deflect the demand for his resignation from the constitutional position by dragging CPM's name unnecessarily".

Reacting to Kurien's argument that he was not an accused in the Suryanelli rape case and the recent Supreme Court judgment quashing the High Court order was not linked to him, it said Kurien had in his petition in the Kerala High Court, seeking discharge from the case registered against him in the sessions court, relied heavily on the High Court order in the original rape case acquitting all the accused barring one.

It said the High Court's order in favour of Kurien was based on its verdict in the main case in which it had observed that victim's testimony cannot be trusted and let off all the accused except one.

Rejecting Kurien's plea that it was a 17-year-old case and the girl was repeating the same charges after 17 years, it said the girl has been fighting for justice for the past 17 years and argued that "the victim girl who was raped 17 years ago cannot be subjected to torture again now for sticking to her charge against the perpetrators of violence against her and refusing to let them go".

It also rejected as false Kurien's argument that the matter went for judicial scrutiny twice and even the Supreme Court had ruled in his favour.

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