Who needs MJ Akbar's resignation?
As expected MJ Akbar has refuted all allegations against him and said he will not resign from his post of union minister. For the moment even Congress is set aside the Rafael scandal and is hell bent upon seeking Akbar's resignation. One cannot rule of the chances of Modi seeking Akbar's resignation to indicate that he cares for the women of India. MJ Akbar is not great asset to BJP. He does not even represent the party with its full values and ideals. He has always been an opportunist who has remained in power since a long time across governments. He has used the same strategy to bag a plum position in BJP trading whatever little loyalty he can claim to have. He has nothing to lose except for that post.
As for BJP, they won't lose much if they lose him. In fact it may even help their poll image if he goes or they drop him. Instead, it may even help BJP's image. What remains to be seen now is whether a party that has a history of assaulting women would even come forward to get Akbar's resignation. Hence Akbar gets away with very sweeping allegation of a political motivated conspiracy being mounted against him. If this was a one off incident with only one woman accusing Akbar of sexual misconduct, no one would have taken it seriously. but along with Priya Ramani there are at least more than 10 women who have made similar charges against Akbar of sexual harassment. all of them are well educated and occupy most dignified positions in the society. There could be limitations to elevations against Akbar.
As in some of the harassment may be a physical and most of it may be psychological too. These allegations sure cast a shadow on akbar personality. The onus of proving his character lies on Akbar now. With this, he can prove that is not like other politicians. If the writer inside him does not feel compelled to resign, or if he is not experiencing any internal conflict, it means Akbar has lost all his sensibilities. At the press conference on sunday, that is exactly what he declared that the writer inside him has died.
Through the #metoo movement Akbar has already been informally penalised. Metoo movement is a very sensitive one at the moment. It rests on the basis of sensibilities. To prove the allegations is going to be a big challenge because the incidents happened in the past and there is probably no supporting evidence to this. more than anything else the victims of these incidents have hardly complained to their higher ups on this matter. There are no corresponding witnesses. People who made this allegations maybe forced to stand in the court of law as culprits. maybe forced to pay compensation for defaming Akbar.If the opposition party sits on a dharna against Akbar, all these risks exist. Because there is a huge gang of people that sits on vantage positions within this government, who have treated women badly.
Has Prime Minister Modi acted against them? If Akbar has to resign, Modi will have to go first because he is facing allegations of spying a woman using state machinery. When such a person is the PM of the nation, how can we expect Akbar to face the fact and resign? There are so many people sitting inside the government that should have resigned by now. Economy is being destroyed and border security is being compromised. Mob lynching and fake gau rakshaks are increasing. Home minister has to resign taking that responsibility. More than anything else, Modi has to resign for having compromised on national security over Rafale deal, to please his friend. Let's not lose focus of the fact that MJ Akbar's resignation may well be a very small compensation for all this.
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'Engineered narratives': West Bengal guv on alleged molestation charges against him
Kolkata, May 2: West Bengal Governor C V Ananda Bose on Thursday said he will not be cowed down by “engineered narratives” and the "truth shall triumph” after TMC leaders claimed that a woman working at Raj Bhavan levelled allegations of molestation against him.
In a statement, the Governor said, “Truth shall triumph. I refuse to be cowed down by engineered narratives. If anybody wants some election benefits by maligning me, God bless them. But they cannot stop my fight against corruption and violence in Bengal,”
To the Raj Bhavan staff "who expressed solidarity with him following some derogatory narratives that were circulated by two disgruntled employees as agents of political parties," a communication by Raj Bhawan said.
The Governor’s statement came after senior TMC leaders claimed this evening in a series of social media posts that the woman, who had levelled the allegations, has been taken to a police station to complain against Bose.
Though police sources said they received a verbal complaint, there was no official word on whether a formal complaint had been registered.
“BIG. Bengal governor CV Ananda Bose was accused of molesting a woman. How utterly appalling and Horrifying. Ahead of @narendramodi visit to Kolkata who is supposed to stay overnight at Raj Bhavan, a woman has alleged that she was molested while she went to meet the Governor at Raj Bhavan today. The complainant has been taken to the Hare Street police station for filing a complaint. The woman has accused the Governor of molesting her. Shocking and disgraceful,” TMC Rajya Sabha MP Sagarika Ghose said in a post on X.
Fellow TMC MP Saket Gokhale also posted on his X account regarding the issue.
West Bengal Women and Child Development Minister Shashi Panja said it is “shameful” that the Governor has maligned his post and has used it to “torture a woman”.
“It is appalling and shocking to see such an incident. This is the same Governor who had reached out to Sandeshkhali to talk about women’s rights and Nari Shakti. This is shameful that the Governor sought undue advantages in the pretext of giving her a permanent job. We want Prime Minister Narendra Modi who will be addressing rallies in Bengal tomorrow to react on this issue,” she said.
According to sources in the Governor's House, the "woman employee with the help of her alleged boyfriend who is also an employee of the Raj Bhavan was blocking complaints (from people) being sent to the Election Commission of India.
"When she was reprimanded for that, she went outside and alleged molestation. She is in the habit of throwing tantrums against her colleagues because of some disease," a Raj Bhavan official said.
The West Bengal Governor and the TMC government have shared an acrimonious relationship since he assumed office in November 2022 and had several run-ins on various issues.
The BJP said it has to be seen whether this a “conspiracy by the TMC” or has an “iota of truth in it”.
“We all know that the TMC is politically cornered on the issue of SSC scam and is looking for a breathing space. So this needs to be seen whether this is a conspiracy by the TMC or it has any iota of truth in it,” BJP leader Suvendu Adhikari said.
BIG. Bengal governor CV Ananda Bose accused of molesting a woman. How utterly APPALLING and HORRIFYING. Ahead of @narendramodi visit to Kolkata who is supposed to stay overnight at Raj Bhavan, a woman has alleged that she was molested while she went to meet the Governor at Raj…
— Sagarika Ghose (@sagarikaghose) May 2, 2024
Shameful that a constitutional office holder should try to prejudice an impartial investigation by attacking the motive of the complainant. We have seen this happen in that infamous Saturday Hearing of the Supreme Court. Respect women! https://t.co/E6eJLQvFXO
— sanjoy ghose (@advsanjoy) May 2, 2024
