New Delhi, Oct 17 (IBNS): Amid sexual harassment allegations levelled against him by multiple women, Union Minister MJ Akbar resigned on Wednesday.
"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 levied against me, also in a personal capacity," the junior external affairs minister said in a statement as reported by NDTV.
As the #MeToo campaign gained momentum in India, several women journalists have levelled charges of sexual harassment against Akbar, a former journalist.
A journalist named Priya Ramani was first among them to raise her voice directly against the Union Minister.
On Oct 8, Ramani tweeted: I began this piece with my MJ Akbar story. Never named him because he didn’t “do” anything. Lots of women have worse stories about this predator—maybe they’ll share. #ulti https://www.vogue.in/content/harvey-weinsteins-open-letter-sexual-harassment/amp/#click=https://t.co/A2uHiJt9zd …"
On Monday, Akbar filed a defamation case against journalist Priya Ramani.
Another former colleague Ghazala Wahab also brought serious allegations of sexual harassment against Akbar.
Akbar, who returned to India on Sunday from an official trip, denied all allegations and called them 'false and fabricated'.
"The allegations of misconduct made against me are false and fabricated, spiced up by innuendo and malice. I could not reply earlier as I was on an official tour abroad. Accusation without evidence has become a viral fever among some sections," Akbar said in a statement.
Questioning the timing of the allegations, he said: "Why has this storm risen a few months before a general election? Is there an agenda? You be the judge. These false, baseless and wild allegations have caused irreparable damage to my reputation and goodwill."
Akbar is a former journalist. He was editor of prominent newspapers like The Telegraph and later The Asian Age.
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