There will be no disciplinary action taken against Josephine. CPM satisfied with “regret” and “resignation”

M C Josephine, a CPM central committee member, resigned as chairperson of the Women’s Commission, but CPM acting state secretary A Vijayaraghavan stopped short of saying that the party forced her to resign.

Vijayaraghavan stated that after the party’s State Secretariat meeting on Friday, which Josephine attended, Josephine narrated the events that occurred and expressed regret for what had occurred. “She then expressed her willingness to resign as chairperson of the Women’s Commission, which was accepted by the party,” Vijayaraghavan said.

This raised concerns about the party’s stance on the issue. Would the party have asked Josephine to resign even if she hadn’t expressed a willingness to do so? Vijayaraghavan flatly refused to respond to these questions. “From what I’ve said, the CPM’s position on the issue is clear,” he said.

However, there were reports that the party was irritated that Josephine had continued to be commanding even after the party had asked her to tone it down. For example, Josephine was warned earlier this year after it was revealed that she had angrily asked a frail 89-year-old woman, a victim of physical assault, to appear in person.

In public, the acting state secretary was gentle with Josephine, but CPM sources said there was vehement criticism of Josephine’s behaviour inside the State Secretariat on Friday.

Nonetheless, in an interview with the media, Vijayaraghavan suggested that the Josephine case be considered settled once she admitted her mistakes. This was also a clear indication that the party has no intention of taking any further action against Josephine, a member of the party’s central committee.

Josephine’s departure was also unavoidable, as the CPM is set to launch a massive awareness campaign, ‘Sthreepaksha Kerala’ (Women-Friendly Kerala), against anti-women practises in Kerala on July 1. The campaign is in response to recent dowry-related deaths in Kerala.

The continuation of Josephine as chairperson of the Women’s Commission after the intimidating manner in which she spoke to a victim of domestic violence would have jeopardised the campaign.

House visits by CPM party cadres and members at the local level are part of the ‘Sthreepaksha Kerala’ campaign. “Our cadres will interact with family members and instil in them the importance of rooting out misogynist attitudes such as dowry,” Vijayaraghavan said.

The one-week campaign will then culminate in a massive statewide anti-women campaign. Vijayaraghavan did not elaborate on the nature of such a statewide campaign.