#MeToo: Trouble for MJ Akbar as BJP to examine sexual harassment charges

Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) president Amit Shah on Friday said that the party will examine the sexual harassment allegations against junior External Affairs Minister MJ Akbar even as the Opposition continued to demand his resignation.

"Dekhna padega yeh sach hai ya galat (We have to see whether these allegations are true or false). We have to check the veracity of the post and the person who posted it. You can also post something using my name." The Times of India quoted Shah as saying.

The fire of India’s own #MeToo movement engulfed the minister with several women, mostly journalists, accusing him of sexual harassment and inappropriate behaviour when he was an editor of a newspaper.

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This was the first reaction of the BJP leadership on the charges against its party leader who serves as a minister in Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s cabinet. However, the prime minister is yet to break his silence on the issue.

Modi and morals travel in the opposite direction: Congress

The Opposition Congress, on the other hand, demanded Akbar to either clarify or tender his resignation. The Grand Old Party also took a dig at Modi for not speaking on the issue and said that “Modi and morals travel in opposite direction”.

“Modi and morals travel in opposite direction,” Congress spokesperson Shaktisinh Gohil told reporters during a press conference in Delhi on Friday.

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“Modi will not seek Akbar's resignation on moral grounds but if he fears his vote bank is affected and he will suffer politically, then keeping this in mind he will even sack him. if need be he will take Akbar's head, for the sake of his 'sultanate',” Gohil added.