AKBAR QUITS
In a clear, but partial, victory for the #MeToo movement, a week after several women scribes levelled allegations of sexual harassment, MJ Akbar has resigned as Minister of State for External Affairs.
In a brief statement announcing his resignation, which he had defiantly ruled out when he returned from abroad on Sunday, Akbar said he deemed it appropriate to fight the charges against him legally in a personal capacity.
His resignation has been accepted by Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Top sources in the government said the decision to step down was Akbar's own and he will remain in the BJP. "This will not set a precedent," the sources added. Union Minister Rajnath Singh was on record having said some time back that ‘‘no one resigns in the NDA government.’’
Thus far, the BJP had maintained a studious silence on allegations against Akbar, except for a cryptic statement by party chief Amit Shah that the charges have to be looked into.
The defining moment came a day after twenty women signed a petition and asked the court to hear them out in the case against Akbar. His continuance in the government appeared untenable in the face of the across the board resolve to hold him responsible for his alleged acts of misconduct.
Akbar's initial plan, possibly approved by the government, was to brazen it out in the hope that the criminal defamation case will snuff the air out of the #MeToo movement. But the storm did not peter out. Yet another former colleague, Tushita Patel, called him out, unfazed by the attempt to intimidate the journalists.
On Tuesday, Congress President Rahul Gandhi, too, had launched an attack on PM Modi saying that the man who coined the slogan “Beti padhao, beti bachao” was silent on the allegations against his Minister. ‘Beti bachao’ is a flagship programme of the BJP in pollbound Madhya Pradesh.
Earlier, the Congress, too, had also been relatively muted in its criticism of the government over the allegations.
On hearing the news, Priya Ramani, the first woman to name him, said: "As women we feel vindicated by MJ Akbar's resignation. I look forward to the day when I will also get justice in court." Akbar’s short and terse statement read thus: “Since I have decided to seek justice in a court of law in my personal capacity, I deem it appropriate to step down from office and challenge false accusations levelled against me, also in a personal capacity. I have, therefore, tendered my resignation from the office of Minister of State for External Affairs. I am deeply grateful to PM Modi and to External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj for the opportunity they gave to serve my country.”