Why Rahul Mamkootathil resigned? Here's how Rini Ann George, Priyanka Gandhi contributed to Palakakd MLA's exit as Kerala Youth Congress chief

With the Kerala Assembly elections only months away, the Congress party was not willing to take a chance by backing Rahul Mamkootathil, Malayalam media reports said. At a time when the Indian National Youth Congress is at the forefront of the battle against women's safety issues across India, it would backfire if one of their top leaders was accused of such allegations. The Congress was also bothered by the fact that Rahul Mamkootathil represents the state comprising the Wayanad seat that elected Priyanka Gandhi to the Lok Sabha, and where KC Venugopal, the AICC general secretary with organisational responsibility, hails from.

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Opposition leader VD Satheesan is personally close to actor Rini Ann George who is facing social media abuse over her statements against a young political leader. Although she did not name the Palakkad MLA as the young leader who misbehaved with her, it was obvious from the clues she left during the media interactions. Satheesan was unhappy with the development and personally wanted disciplinary action against him, Manorama Online reported.

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While the Youth Congress national leadership wanted solid proof before demanding Rahul Mamkootathil's resignation, Deepa Das Munshi, the AICC general secretary in charge of Kerala, reportedly sidelined the youth wing and pressed for his ouster. It was Munshi who told the Congress leadership in Kerala to demand Rahul's resignation as Youth Congress state chief, Manorama Online said in a report.

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Even before Rini Ann George made her viral statements, Deepa Das Munshi had received several complaints against Rahul from several women. She was also aware of the accusations against him on social media, the report added. Once Rini's "who cares" statement came, the Kerala leadership officially communicated the development to Munshi.

India