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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Kerala court sentences man to life imprisonment for murder of doctor at taluk hospital
Kollam (Kerala) (PTI): A teacher convicted in the sensational murder of Dr Vandana Das inside a hospital here was sentenced to life term on Saturday, and the prosecution said it will move an appeal seeking death penalty for the accused. The victim's family also batted for "maximum punishment".
Dr Das was brutally killed inside a taluk hospital in May 2023 by G Sandeep.
The Kollam Additional District and Sessions Court sentenced Sandeep to a total of 30 years for various offences under the then Indian Penal Code (IPC) and said that after he serves that period, his life imprisonment for Das' murder will commence, SPP Prathap G Padickal told reporters.
The detailed judgement is awaited.
The special public prosecutor said that he will recommend to the prosecution to file an appeal seeking enhancement of the life imprisonment to death penalty.
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He said that the prosecution had sought the maximum punishment for Sandeep, "but the court probably felt it was not a rarest-of-rare case" and that is why death penalty was not given.
The victim's father said that the verdict has come as a relief for the family, but he cannot authoritatively say whether his daughter has got justice.
He indicated his dissatisfaction with the punishment, saying that steps will be taken to seek its enhancement after discussions with the public prosecutor.
Dr Das' mother said that the family can only wish for the maximum punishment and it was up to the court to decide what sentence should be given.
She said that the family will go in appeal, but declined to comment on whether her daughter got justice.
She tearfully said that she wants the convict to suffer the same pain that her daughter underwent "as he stabbed her 27 times".
The court on March 17 had convicted Sandeep for various offences under the IPC, including murder, destruction of evidence and wrongful restraint.
It had also held him guilty under the provisions of the Kerala Healthcare Service Persons and Healthcare Service Institutions (Prevention of violence and damage to property) Act 2012.
Sandeep was brought to the taluk hospital by the police for medical treatment during the small hours of May 10, 2023 and he went on a sudden attacking spree using a pair of surgical scissors kept in the room where his leg injury was being dressed.
A school teacher by profession, he had initially attacked the police officers and a private person who had accompanied him to the hospital and then turned on the young Dr Das, who could not escape to safety.
She was stabbed several times and later succumbed to her injuries in a private hospital in Thiruvananthapuram where she was rushed following the attack.
Dr Das was a native of the Kaduthuruthy area of Kottayam district and the only child of her parents.
She was a house surgeon at Azeezia Medical College Hospital and was working at the Kottarakkara taluk hospital as part of her training.
Sandeep had called the emergency number 112, claiming that his life was in danger. When local police located him, he was standing close by his home, surrounded by local residents and his relatives, and had a wound on his leg following an alleged quarrel.
He was then taken to the hospital for dressing the wound.
