Shiv Sena demands sacking of Akbar over #MeToo charges

Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) ally Shiv Sena Thursday demanded the removal of Union minister M J Akbar, who has been accused by several women journalists of sexually harassment.

The saffron party also said the charges against Akbar needed to be investigated thoroughly.

"As far as I know, there are five to six women professionals who have openly narrated how they were sexually attacked by M J Akbar. The details are worrisome and serious. Hence, I demand that he should be removed from his post immediately," Sena spokesperson Manisha Kayande said.

"Prime Minister Narendra Modi frequently talks about 'Beti Bachao-Beti Padhao'. Hence, in order to maintain his own image, Modi should remove Akbar from his post," she added.

"Let there be a proper investigation into the accusations against him. If Akbar comes out clean, he can be reinstated in the cabinet," the Sena MLC said.

The legislator also took a dig at the Maharashtra State Commission for Women, saying it was not doing its job properly.

"The chairperson of the commission has been a long-standing member of the BJP. She (Vijaya Rahatkar) only issues notices and selectively gives clean chits. She is certainly not using her judicial powers," Kayande said.

As the #MeToo campaign gathered momentum in India, several women journalists have come out and accused Akbar, a former newspaper editor and now the Union minister of state for external affairs, of sexually harassing them during his stint as a journalist.