#MeToo: Akbar should resign if found guilty, says Athawale
Pune, Oct 14: Union minister Ramdas Athawale said Sunday Union minister M J Akbar should resign if the allegations of sexual misconduct levelled against him were found to be true.
Replying to queries at a press conference here, he also cautioned that the #MeToo movement should not become a platform to level baseless allegations.
Athawale, who is the Union minister for social justice and empowerment, said Akbar should resign as Union minister if he was found guilty.
"If someone is insulting women, action should be taken against such an individual. Even if personalities like Nana Patekar or M J Akbar are found guilty, action should be taken against them," Athawale said.
"If someone is guilty, the person should be punished. But according to me, there is a possibility that the platform could be used to implicate someone in a false case. Police should verify such allegations," the minister added.
While Patekar was accused by actor Tanushree Dutta of misbehaving with her during a film shoot in 2008, multiple women in the last few days have come out with accounts of alleged sexual harassment by Akbar when he was a journalist.
Akbar Sunday rejected the allegations of sexual misconduct levelled as "false and fabricated" and vowed legal action, while suggesting this was part of an "agenda" as the charges came a few months before a general election.
On being asked about a number of these allegations coming to light several years after the alleged incidents, Athawale said evidence would come up even now if investigations were conducted properly.
The Republican Party of India (A) leader said not all allegations under the #MeToo movement were of a very serious nature but they mostly concerned cases of inappropriate touch and misbehaviour.
"However, all allegations need to be investigated," he said.
Athawale said the Union government had appointed a committee comprising retired judges to probe the cases.
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IRGC warns of retaliation after energy sites hit; Gulf nations issue Emergency Alerts
Tehran/Riyadh/Doha: Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) has issued a strong warning after attacks on its energy infrastructure, saying it will retaliate against those responsible.
A spokesperson for the IRGC’s Khatam al-Anbiya Headquarters said “the fuel, energy and gas infrastructures” of countries behind the attacks “will be burned and turned to ashes at the earliest opportunity”.
“This is a firm and clear warning to the criminals who attacked part of Iran’s fuel and energy infrastructures in the south of the country,” the statement, carried by Iran’s Mehr news agency, said.
“We declare to the cowardly and aggressive army of the criminal America and the barbaric and child-killing Zionist regime that you will have to throw your soldiers into the water and throw your dignity into the wind,” it added.
The warning comes as Gulf countries step up emergency measures amid fears of further escalation.
Saudi Arabia’s National Early Warning Platform for Emergency Cases issued alerts warning of danger in the Riyadh and al-Kharj governorates. Residents were cautioned about a possible aerial threat.
In Qatar, reports indicate that Ras Laffan, the world’s largest LNG production facility, is being evacuated. The move follows Iran’s warning that it may target energy infrastructure in Qatar, the UAE and Saudi Arabia.
Ras Laffan was previously attacked on March 2 in the early phase of the conflict, after which QatarEnergy had temporarily paused production.
Authorities have reportedly asked workers and residents in specific areas to evacuate as a precaution.
Meanwhile, reports have emerged of two loud explosions in Saudi Arabia’s capital Riyadh. Residents there have received alerts warning of a possible aerial attack.
The situation across the Gulf region remains tense as military threats and countermeasures continue to escalate.
