Facing heat over the rape allegations against his elder son, CPI(M) state secretary Kodiyeri Balakrishnan Saturday sought to distance the party and himself from the case.
Looking visibly uncomfortable as he faced a barrage of questions from the media personnel, Balakrishnan said his son Binoy was an adult and responsible for his actions,adding that he need not expect any protection from him or from the party.
This is the first time Kodiyeri was reacting on the charges of rape and cheating against his son, raised by a former bar dancer of Mumbai.
"Neither my party CPI(M) nor I will protect Binoy. He is an adult. He stays as a separate family and is responsible for his actions," Kodiyeri said.
The complainant, a 33-year-old woman from Mumbai, had alleged that Binoy had raped her promising marriage and she had an eight-year-old son from the relationship.
Mumbai Police has registered a case against Binoy, who is said to be abscounding.
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Balakrishnan, who was undergoing ayurvedic treatment,today attended the CPI(M) state secretariat at the AKG Centre here and also met Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan in the morning.
Speculations were rife since this morning that Kodiyeri would put in his papers.
Surprising the media, the veteran leader called for a press meet this evening and made it clear his son would fight the case legally and neither he nor the party would back him.
He also said the party would not shoulder the responsiblity of the misdemeanours committed by the family members of party workers.
"This is a lesson to every party member that CPI(M) will not take responsibility in case any family member commits any offence," Balakrishanan said.
The allegations need to be probed to bring out the truth, he said, adding Binoy would have to prove his innocence.
The CPI(M)'s stand on the issue had earlier been made clear by its General Secretary Sitaram Yechury, who had stated that the party will not interfere in the matter as it was an issue related to an individual and not to the party, he said.
Denying media reports that he had offered to step down from the party leadership, Balakrishnan said "if I had done any wrong, the party will decide and take the action".
Claiming that he got to know about the case only after Mumbai police registered an FIR, he rejected media reports that the woman and her family had contacted him.
"No one spoke to me in this regard.All the reports that I or my family had contacted her (complainant) are allegations that have been mentioned in the complaint. Let the court decide," he said.
This is the second time Binoy has courted controversy.
A few months ago, he was allegedly involved in a financial fraud case in one of the Gulf countires.
Balakrishnan said Binoy was in the Gulf and it was not always possible to go there and find out what he was upto.
"It is not possible to be always behind his back to find out what he was up to. If I was always behind him, this issue would not have arisen," he added.
When media persisted on Binoy's whereabouts, Kodiyeri shot back, saying he was not an officer of Mumbai police.
The Mumbai Police had on Thursday served a notice to Binoy, asking him to appear within 72 hours before the Investigating Officers probing the case.
Meanwhile, Opposition Leader Ramesh Chennithala sought a comprehensive probe into the matter and said the party and its secretary cannot wash their hands off the matter.
Two Mumbai police personnel, along with two local police personnel, went to Binoy's ancestral home at Thiruvangad in Thalassery in Kannur district and handed over the notice to the relatives.
The Mumbai team had arrived at Kannur Wednesday as part of the probe into the complaint filed by the woman, who had alleged she had got aquainted with Binoy at Dubai, where she was working as a bar dancer.
Binoy has been booked under Indian Penal Code sections 420 (cheating) and 376 (rape) in the case filed in Oshiwara police station at Andheri in Mumbai.