Letters to BS: M J Akbar should step down till his name gets cleared

Bharatiya Janata Party leadership should ask M J Akbar to step aside as it is hurting its image

Apropos the apt editorial “An untenable position” (October 16); though Akbar has filed a criminal defamation case against Priya Ramani, how he decides to deal with the string of allegations by other women is a matter of conjecture. The defence put out by him does not sound convincing. It has taken an enormous amount of courage for these women to speak up. 

While Akbar has every right to defend himself, he should note that he is no longer a private citizen but a minister in the Union cabinet. Propriety demands he should step aside till his name is cleared. He should take the cue from many others who have relinquished their posts temporarily while an investigation is on. The Bharatiya Janata Party leadership should ask him to step aside as it is hurting its image.

Recourse to legal action is a time-consuming affair in India. With the amount of cases pending in our courts, it will take many years for the courts to conclude this case. Is this a ploy to hope the issue will fade away with time? If he is genuinely innocent, why doesn’t he volunteer to take a lie detector test? The truth would be out faster. The same could also be administered on all victims.

K V Premraj, Mumbai

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