THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Leader of Opposition V D Satheesan invoked criminal laws as well as the epic Mahabharatha as he attacked the government on Friday for not acting on the Justice Hema Committee report and for not allowing a discussion on the matter in the assembly.

Satheesan alleged that Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan and the council of ministers committed a criminal offence by failing to act on the Hema committee report despite knowing it had mentions of sexual offences committed against women and minors.

“For four-and-a-half years, the government sat on the report that said a series of sexual offences were committed. As per the Pocso Act and the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, that’s a crime,” he said. Satheesan, who was speaking to reporters after A N Shamseer denied the Opposition permission to issue a notice to move an adjournment motion on the matter saying it was sub-judice, accused the Speaker of acting against precedent.

“When I raised the matter as a question, the speaker told me to bring it as a submission or in another form. If the matter being sub-judice was the issue, then even questions should not have been allowed. We have precedents of such matters being discussed in the House. It’s an abomination for the assembly that such an issue, concerning women, was not discussed here,” Satheesan said.

Shamseer had barred the Opposition from issuing a notice on the matter and denied Satheesan’s nod to hold a walkout speech, saying the denial came from the chair, not the government. Satheesan was instead told to make a statement that the UDF members were staging a walkout.

Meanwhile, Satheesan accused the CM and Cultural Affairs Minister Saji Cherian of misleading the assembly by claiming that Justice Hema had asked it not to release the report. “Justice Hema only cautioned the government to uphold the guidelines of the Supreme Court to protect its confidentiality while handing over the report. However, the CM and the minister said she had asked that the report not be released,” Satheesan alleged.