M J Akbar rejects allegations of sexual harassment; links them to LS polls

Union minister M J Akbar Sunday termed allegations of sexual harassment levelled against him by several women as "false, fabricated and deeply distressing" and said he was taking appropriate legal action against them.

Hours after returning from a trip to Africa, the Minister of State for External Affairs issued a statement, virtually rejecting calls for his resignation from the post and seeking to link the allegations against him to the upcoming Lok sabha elections.

There have been mounting demands for his removal from the Union council of ministers after multiple women, as part of the #MeToo movement in India, came out with accounts of alleged sexual harassment by the 67-year-old Akbar when he was a journalist.

"The allegations of misconduct made against me are false and fabricated, spiced up by innuendo and malice. I could not reply earlier as I was on an official tour abroad," he said in the statement.

"Accusation without evidence has become a viral fever among some sections. Whatever be the case, now that I have returned, my lawyers will look into these wild and baseless allegations in order to decide our future course of legal action," the BJP MP from Madhya Pradesh said.

Before Akbar issued the statement, the Congress, at a press conference, questioned Prime Minister Narendra Modi's silence on the allegations against the junior minister and said as the head of the government he should speak on the issue.

"It is for the prime minister to speak on this issue, let the country judge its PM by his actions. So far his silence is conspicuous. This question is not only the moral authority of the government, but his own also, and the dignity of the office he holds," Congress leader Anand Sharma said.

Congress chief Rahul Gandhi had earlier come out in support of the #MeToo movement, saying it was time for the truth to be told "loud and clear".

Akbar said the "false, baseless and wild allegations have caused irreparable damage" to his reputation, and wondered why "this storm has risen" a few months before the general election?