Accused of sexual harassment, M.J. Akbar resigns as MoS external affairs. BJP members say his marching orders came from the ‘very top’.
New Delhi: Facing multiple allegations of sexual harassment and assault from women journalists as part of the #MeToo movement, Minister of State for External affairs M.J. Akbar resigned from his post Wednesday, saying it was only “appropriate for him to step down from office and challenge the false accusations”.
“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 leveled against me, also in a personal capacity,” Akbar, a former journalist, wrote in his resignation letter.
He thanked Prime Minister Narendra Modi and external affairs minister Sushma Swaraj for the opportunity to serve the country.
Also read: Priya Ramani vs MJ Akbar must not stop public naming & shaming in India’s #Metoo
Untenable position
Akbar’s resignation comes after it seemed the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) would brazen it out and not react to the allegations. Highly-placed sources who did not wish to be identified, however, said the decision “came from the very top” and “the extent of the allegations and Akbar’s own aggressive reaction made the party high command believe this was getting untenable”.
Another highly-placed leader, also on the condition of anonymity, said it had turned into “a battle against the government, even though it was strictly about an individual and not the government or the party”. The concern among the BJP brass, the leader said, was that the entire government was under the scanner with elections around the corner, though this was Akbar’s personal battle to fight.
More than a dozen women journalists have come out to accuse Akbar of harassment.
Senior journalist Priya Ramani was the first to name Akbar in a Twitter post on 8 October, while the minister was in Africa on an official tour. Upon return, he issued a statement to deny all allegations. He then went on to file a criminal defamation case against Ramani, claiming her “defamatory articles” were a “figment of imagination”, intended to “malign” his reputation.
Modi’s BJP, which has made ‘Beti Bachao, Beti Padhao’ a key slogan, was receiving widespread flak for what was perceived to be its cavalier attitude towards women who were accusing Akbar of varying degrees of sexual harassment.
BJP’s silence
Since the controversy erupted, the party has largely been silent on the issue, including its senior women leaders like Swaraj. The BJP believed since the allegations related to a time when Akbar wasn’t with the party, it should not put out any official stance.
The party’s calculations, sources said, were also centred around the fact that Akbar is neither a mass leader nor someone who is synonymous with the BJP, and hence, it would not hurt the party electorally.
According to the sources, it was this very calculation that eventually also led the brass to ask him to step down, given his removal “will not cost any votes, but will give the government a moral leg up”.
Also read: MJ Akbar sues Priya Ramani for criminal defamation over sexual harassment allegations
Akbar, who was earlier a Congress MP, joined the BJP in March 2014 as its national spokesperson. Along with Union minister Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi and senior leader Shahnawaz Hussain, Akbar is one of the few minority faces of the BJP.
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Between Sunday morning and Wednesday afternoon, no new facts have come to light, barring another couple of tawdry accounts of gentleman in various stages of undress. So no moral mileage can now be claimed. Party spokespersons will have to essay a few advanced yogic poses this evening.