Ganguly should resign from WBHRC: Taslima Nasreen

Nasreen says he should resign till his name is cleared of the charge

Exiled Bangladeshi author Taslima Nasreen today lent her support to the demand for resignation of Justice A K Ganguly, accused of sexually harassing a law intern, as the West Bengal Human Rights Commission chairman.

"As a feminist, I think he should step down from the post for the sake of the trust which people have on a body like the human rights commission," Nasreen told reporters here from Delhi through videoconferencing at the launch of a TV serial.

She said since Ganguly has been accused in such a case, he should resign till his name is cleared of the charge.

"I am saying this for the benefit of the human rights commission and not against Ganguly. I am not saying that he is guilty, but till his name is cleared he should stay away from the chair," she said, alleging that the Tarun Tejpal case proved that even educated men might commit such grave offences against women.

"What he did is wrong. He has resigned and I hope he gets punishment. People say that those from the lower strata of society and villages are responsible for these incidents, but with these allegations we are seeing that those who are intellectuals and write on women's issues and those who protest against rapes can also molest and rape," the author said.