On 4 December 2024 he took oath as MLA. On 4 December 2025 he was expelled from Congress and hunted in a rape case.

From blue trolley bag to red alert

One date. Two Decembers. One political freefall.

On 4 December 2024, Rahul Mamkootathil entered the Kerala Assembly as the newly elected MLA from Palakkad. Cameras flashed, party leaders clapped, and the Speaker handed him that now-infamous blue trolley bag — a light moment, a “future leader” moment.

Fast forward exactly one year.

4 December 2025.
Rahul Mamkootathil is no longer just an MLA in headlines — he is an absconding accused in a rape case involving allegations of sexual exploitation, forced abortion, intimidation, and misuse of power.
Congress has expelled him from the party’s primary membership.
The court has rejected anticipatory bail.
Kerala Police are still searching for him days after an arrest order.

Same date. Same man.
Two opposite realities.

If irony had a voter ID, it would be from Kerala.

The rise they celebrated

Rahul was projected as a clean, young, articulate Congress face.
Palakkad was a prestige by-election. Congress needed a win. Rahul delivered.

He won comfortably.
He took oath smoothly.
He was hailed as proof that “youth politics” was alive and well.

Inside party corridors, whispers existed. Outside, silence.

Politics loves talent. It hates inconvenient truth.

The complaints nobody wanted to hear

Before the case exploded, multiple women had raised concerns. Some within party-connected ecosystems. Some outside.

No police case then.
No urgency.
No moral panic.

Why?

Because at that moment:

• He could win elections
• He could mobilise youth
• He could stand on stage and shout slogans

And in Indian politics, that’s often enough to buy silence.

When silence broke, the system panicked

Everything changed when:

• A woman formally complained of rape, alleging a long-term sexual relationship under the promise of marriage
• Allegations included forced abortion, coercion, threats, and use of intimate content for control
• The survivor approached the Chief Minister directly
• The case became impossible to manage quietly

The law moved.
The court saw merit.
Anticipatory bail was denied.

Only then did morality enter the conversation.

Congress: from damage control to expulsion

Congress’s response followed a familiar script:

Step 1: Contain

Initial suspension. Statements about internal discipline. Avoid naming the charges loudly.

Step 2: Delay

Let police, court, and media take the heat. Hope the issue fades. It didn’t.

Step 3: Cut loose

On 4 December 2025, when the court refused bail, Congress finally expelled Rahul Mamkootathil from the party.

Not before.
Not when the survivor spoke.
Not when allegations surfaced.

Only when the court shut the door.

Let’s be honest:
This wasn’t moral courage.
This was legal inevitability.

Absconding MLA, missing accused, helpless police?

Despite:

• CCTV trails
• Vehicle movements across state borders
• Known associates
• A non-bailable offence

Kerala Police have not traced him even after days.

Under a ruling government that prides itself on “law and order”.

One can’t help asking:

• Is our system bad at tracking criminals — or selective about whom it tracks aggressively?
• Would an ordinary man accused of these sections get the same patience?

Questions that make power uncomfortable rarely get answers.

CPI(M): Don’t smile too much — your cupboard rattles louder

Congress is bleeding.
CPI(M) is debating loudly.

But celebration doesn’t suit a party with its own long history of shielding powerful men accused of sexual misconduct.

Let’s revisit the uncomfortable list.

PK Sasi: “Low-intensity harassment” — the joke that shamed Kerala

A woman leader accused MLA PK Sasi of sexual harassment.

Instead of backing her legally:

• CPI(M) conducted an internal party enquiry
• The report effectively diluted the accusation
• The phrase that emerged — low-intensity harassment— became the dark joke of the year

Outcome?

• Temporary suspension
• The accused survived
• The survivor quit in disgust

Message sent:
If you complain, you leave — not the man.

M Mukesh: Rape case, no political consequence

Actor-turned-MLA M Mukesh faced rape allegations from a fellow actor.

Non-bailable sections.
Serious charges.

CPI(M)’s stance?

• “Let the law take its course”
• He continues as MLA
• No expulsion. No decisive action.

Apparently, justice can wait if the seat matters.

AK Saseendran: Audio tapes, resign, return, repeat

Sleaze audio surfaced.
Minister resigned.

A short memory later:

• Acquittal narratives
• Political rehabilitation
• Cabinet comeback

Then another audio controversy — this time allegedly suggesting a “settlement” approach in a harassment case.

Result?

• No lasting consequence
• Career intact
• System unmoved

Resignations in Kerala politics are often paid leave, not penalties.

The pattern nobody wants to admit

Across parties, ideologies, slogans, and flags:

1. Men are assets. Women are risks.
2. Internal committees are used to manage optics, not deliver justice.
3. Action happens only when:
   • Courts intervene, or
   • Media refuses to let go.
4. Survivors pay the highest price:
   • Character assassination
   • Online abuse
   • Career collapse
   • Emotional exhaustion

Predators get lawyers.
Survivors get lectures.

The real scandal isn’t Rahul alone

Rahul Mamkootathil is not an exception.

He is a symptom.

A symptom of:

• Parties protecting power over principle
• Police moving carefully around influential names
• Internal enquiries replacing criminal accountability
• Public outrage fading faster than political memory

Today Congress expels Rahul.
Tomorrow CPI(M) will defend someone else.
Next week another party will issue a “we condemn” statement.

And the cycle continues.

If 4 December must be remembered, remember this

4 December 2024:
A politician walks in celebrated.

4 December 2025:
The same politician walks out disgraced — not because politics grew a conscience, but because the law forced a decision.

Kerala doesn’t suffer from lack of laws.
It suffers from selective application.

Until:

• Independent mechanisms exist for complaints against elected representatives
• Police act without political hesitation
• Parties stop treating expulsion as a PR exercise

Every speech on “women’s safety” is just expensive noise.

The question isn’t whether Rahul Mamkootathil will be arrested.

The real question is:
How many more powerful men are still walking free because the system finds their votes more valuable than a woman’s truth?

And that, unfortunately, is not a Congress story.
Not a CPI(M) story.
It’s an Indian political story.

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