TDP MLA from Andhra, Koneti Adimulam was suspended from the party after a survivor alleged that he had sexually harassed her several times. The decision to suspend him was made after a purported video of sexual abuse started doing rounds in the media after the survivor elaborated the ordeal she went through to media and said that she had proof.
Published Sep 05, 2024 | 7:25 PM ⚊ Updated Sep 05, 2024 | 7:50 PM
Suspended TDP MLA Adimulam and Andhra CM Chandrababu Naidu
Koneti Adimulam, Telugu Desam Party MLA from Sathyavedu in Andhra Pradesh’s Tirupati district, was suspended on Thursday, 5 September from the party following allegations of sexual harassment by woman activist of the party.
The party’s decision came after the survivor wrote a letter to TDP supremo and Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu, narrating the ordeal she went through. She alleged that she had recorded the harassment and assault by the suspended MLA on a pen camera. A video clip of the alleged sexual assault has started doing the rounds in social media.
Speaking about the decision, TDP state president Palla Srinivasa Rao said in a statement that the party had suspended him as the allegations made against him were serious enough to warrant such an action. “The party, taking serious note of the allegations against Koneti Adimulam, aired its decision on TV news channels,” said the statement.
Adimulam was a YSRCP MLA when YS Jagan Mohan Reddy was the chief minister of the state. He joined the TDP before the recently concluded Assembly elections and won from Tirupati’s Satyavedu on a TDP ticket.
Speaking to media persons in Hyderabad on Thursday, the survivor said that she is a TDP activist who used to work with the accused in conducting programmes concerning the party.
Elaborating on the alleged sexual harassment, she said, “I wanted Chandrababu Naidu and Koneti Adimulam to win the elections. I campaigned for both of them. As I was party activist, he had my number. He used to call me to a hotel in Tirupati on the pretext of giving letters from his letter pad for any work I had requested him to help me with. On one occasion, he assaulted me sexually. It happened twice later. I sent letters to Chandrababu Naidu and Minister N Lokesh on the sexual assault on me.”
The survivor said that Adimulam used to call her late in the night which made her husband suspicious and that one day he ended up hitting her after one such call. “For two days there was tension in our house. My husband even said he would divorce me. He changed his mind later after understanding my difficulty and together we decided to report the issue to the party leadership. To obtain evidence, I recorded the assault on me on a pen camera which we sent to the party leadership.”
The survivor further alleged that the reason to come out against Adimulam in Hyderabad is because they felt threatened to accuse him of the harassment in Tirupati.
“I did not lodge any complaint with the police. Even if I did, since he is a ruling party MLA, I know the police would not take any action against him. They would, instead, register a case against me for making allegations,” she said.
“He is like a pest in the TDP. He should be weeded out of the party. I love Telugu Desam Party and there should be no room for such people in the party who bring disgrace to the party,” she concluded.
Controversy rocked Karnataka politics when former JD(S) leaders HD Revanna and his son, Hassan MP Prajwal Revanna was accused of sexual assault by several women just before the Lok Sabha elections.
The allegation against the father-son duo includes that of raping a domestic help who worked at their residence in 2020, six months after one another. Prajwal was also accused of forcing the woman’s daughter to talk to him on a video call and strip in the course of the call.
Related to the same case, investigation is underway against former Hassan BJP MLA Preetham Gowda, who is accused of distributing explicit videos of sexual assault allegedly involving former JD(S) MP Prajwal Revanna. Recently, Karnataka High Court refused to quash the proceedings against him.
Senior BJP leader and former cm of Karnataka, BS Yediyurappa is currently facing charges under Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) after he was accused of molesting a minor. During the previous Congress term in Karnataka, cabinet minister HY Meti was dropped from Siddaramaiah’s council of ministers after a similar tape of him exploiting a woman emerged.
A few years back, former Karnataka minister and BJP leader Ramesh Jarkiholi was accused of sexual assault after the survivor claimed that she was abused by Ramesh on the pretext of getting her a government job.
About a decade ago, Karnataka BJP leaders Laxman Savadi, CC Patil and Krishna Palemar had to resign as then cabinet ministers after they were caught watching porn in the Assembly during the proceedings.
In Tamil Nadu, former AIADMK minister M Manikandan was booked in 2021 after a Tamil actor accused him of rape on the pretext of marriage. He was also accused of raping a Malaysian woman and allegedly causing her miscarriage.
Recently, actor turned politician, CPI(M) MLA M Mukesh was accused of sexual abuse after the Justice Hema Committee report was released.
(Edited by Neena)
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