Congress legislator Rahul Mamkootathil made a notable return to the Kerala Legislative Assembly on Monday, September 15, 2025. This appearance signaled the end of his voluntary political absence, which began last month after he faced serious accusations of sexual misconduct.
Accompanied by prominent Youth Congress figures, including Thiruvananthapuram district secretary Nemom Sajeer, Mr. Mamkootathil entered the Assembly as it was honoring deceased leaders. These included former Chief Minister V.S. Achuthanandan, ex-Speaker P.P. Thankachan, and CPI legislator Vazhoor Soman.
He subsequently took the seat assigned to him by Speaker A.N. Shamseer on Sunday, a position noticeably distant from both the Opposition and Treasury benches.
Speaker Shamseer had previously clarified that due to Mr. Mamkootathil’s expulsion from the Congress Legislative Party (CLP), the Chair was compelled to recognize him as an independent member, hence his distinct seating arrangement.
E.P. Jayarajan, a CPI(M) State committee member, sharply criticized Mr. Mamkootathil’s return, asserting that he had “challenged civil society and attempted to erode the dignity of the House by disregarding political propriety and ethics.”
Jayarajan further alleged that Mamkootathil remained “under a cloud of suspicion” and faced accusations of “serial sexually predatory behavior.”
He highlighted that Mr. Mamkootathil had neither legally disputed nor denied the allegations made by multiple women, noting that the Kerala Police Crime Branch was actively investigating the complaints.
V.K. Sanoj, State secretary of the Democratic Youth Federation of India (DYFI), told reporters that Mr. Mamkootathil’s presence in the House was a “brazen defiance” of Leader of the Opposition V.D. Satheesan’s directives.
Sanoj suggested that Mamkootathil’s actions indicated a rebellion, seemingly backed by a faction within the Youth Congress. He concluded that “a revolt is brewing within the KPCC and Congress Legislative Party over the Mamkootathil issue, with leaders adopting differing stances.”
Both the DYFI and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) had threatened to boycott Mr. Mamkootathil should he appear in the Assembly or his Palakkad constituency. Despite these warnings, he traveled from his Adoor residence in Pathanamthitta district in a private car to attend the Assembly session early Monday.
His presence at the Assembly coincided with a crucial KPCC leadership meeting at Indira Bhavan in Thiruvananthapuram, where disciplinary action against him was on the agenda.
Concurrently, a group of Mr. Mamkootathil’s supporters within the Youth Congress publicly committed to “protecting” the legislator, both in Thiruvananthapuram and in his home constituency of Palakkad.