THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Reports say the party has decided to appoint former MP and CPM leader P Sathidevi as the chairperson of women's commission. The decision was taken at the state secretariat meeting convened here today. This has not yet been reported to the state committee. The Women's Commission has been without a chairperson for two months after M C Josephine resigned over ‘Then, you suffer’ controversy. She was criticised for her remarks from many quarters.

Sathidevi is currently the state secretary of Janadhipathya Women's Association. She was the LDF candidate in the Vadakara Lok Sabha constituency and had won by over one lakh votes in 2004. However, in 2009 she lost to Mullappally Ramachandran.

Josephine had to resign her post following her remarks to a woman complainant during a phone-in programme courted controversy. She shouted, ‘Then, you suffer’ at a complainant, when she told the chairperson that she had not approached the police with a domestic violence complaint, despite her husband and mother-in-law harassing her. She was criticised for her statement. Later the party intervened and made her resign.