The Congress has demanded the resignation of junior foreign minister MJ Akbar, after a senior journalist in a tweet on October 8, accused him of sexual harassment, when he was an editor.
“Union minister MJ Akbar should either give a satisfactory answer to the allegations or he should resign. We demand an inquiry into the matter,” Congress lawmaker, Jaipal Reddy told news agency ANI.
Earlier Congress spokesperson Manish Tiwari said, silence is not an option. “This matter should be investigated. We would like to hear from both the minister in question and the Prime Minister on this issue,” said Mr Tewari.
On Monday, Mr Akbar’s senior Sushma Swaraj did not reply when she was asked by a journalist about the allegations against Mr Akbar.
Maneka Gandhi, the union minister for women and child development, on Tuesday became the first BJP leader to call for an investigation against the former editor, who was named in the snowballing #MeToo movement in India.
“There should be an investigation. Men in position of power often do this. This applies to media, politics and seniors working in companies. Now that women have started speaking out, we should take it seriously,” Maneka Gandhi told news channel India Today when asked about allegations surfacing against a “big” politician.