Sunny Joseph shifts stance, terms petition against Rahul Mamkoottathil 'questionable'

Thiruvananthapuram: KPCC president Sunny Joseph now says the second complaint against Rahul Mamkoottathil was a calculated move, drafted with the steady hand of someone trained in the law. He claims the petition reached the media first and only then landed on his desk, and from that, he says, anyone can work out the motive. He keeps repeating that he has read it, that he has a copy, and that he fully understands what sits behind it.

What’s striking is how sharply his position has shifted. Rahul Mamkoottathil faces allegations of rape and forced abortion from two different women. At first, Sunny Joseph spoke about the need for a proper investigation and promised the usual party backing for due process. Now he has slipped into belittling the survivor and standing guard over Rahul, floating suggestions of some shadowy plot behind the second complaint.

He did once say that, on receiving the petition, he passed it straight to the DGP. During the election, that looked like an attempt to tidy up his own reputation. Congress figures were quick to applaud the gesture, although anyone watching closely could see it was more about closing down further questions than championing accountability. Rahul, for his part, insisted earlier that no such complainant existed and the whole thing was fabricated, and Sunny Joseph’s recent comments seem to lean in that direction.

Then came yesterday’s twist: Adoor Prakash, a Congress MP, was spotted offering support to Dileep in the actress assault case. And once you put that beside the Rahul episode, a pattern starts to emerge. A party that likes to talk about justice somehow keeps drifting towards men with influence while brushing aside the women who had the grit to take their complaints to the judiciary. It’s a sobering sight, especially for ordinary people who wonder whether the system is built for them at all.