Political storm brews as Akbar refuses to resign
Minister threatens legal action, Mahila Congress plans stir
NEWDELHI: A bitter political storm is brewing as Union minister of state for external affairs, MJ Akbar, declined on Sunday to quit from the government over charges of sexual harassment levelled against him by former colleagues from when he was a journalist.
In a statement released hours after he returned to India from an official trip, Akbar described the charges as politically motivated, “false and fabricated, spiced up by innuendo and malice”, and said he would take legal action.
“My lawyers will look into these wild and baseless allegations in order to decide our future course of legal action,” he said.
The Congress responded soon after through spokesperson Priyanka Chaturvedi, who tweeted: “I wonder how over a dozen women sharing their experiences can be claimed as political conspiracy? Bigger wonder is which constituency does his stepping down impact in elections?” A senior functionary in the party said on condition of anonymity that Mahila Congress – the women’s wing of the party – will launch a nationwide campaign from tomorrow, starting from Akbar’s residence in New Delhi.
The Union government and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) have largely been silent since the allegations surfaced, and have maintained that the allegations do not concern the government or Akbar’s tenure as minister, and that it is up to him to clarify and take a stand.
A BJP functionary, explaining the position of the party, said on Sunday that the minister will have a chance to present his case and address the accusations.
Akbar, who returned from a week-long tour to Equatorial Guinea and Nigeria, said in his statement: “Why has this storm risen a few months before a general election? Is there an agenda? You be the judge.”