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(NEW DELHI) - MJ Akbar, a young Indian Minister of External Affairs, resigned Wednesday after being accused of sexual harassment by 20 women during his previous career, becoming the country's most powerful man, the #MeToo. movement.
Akbar said in a statement that he "would question, on a personal basis, false accusations", citing a criminal case that he filed on Monday against the first woman to accuse him.
Akbar, 67, was first a deputy at India's ruling National Indian Congress between 1989 and 1991. He then edited the newspaper The Telegraph, The Asian Age, and Japan. other newspapers, and has written several books of fiction the Indian media.
He returned to public life in March 2014, when he joined the Bharatiya Janata party and was named national spokesperson in the 2014 election that brought the BJP and the Prime Minister to power. Narendra Modi.
Akbar kept a low profile after joining the Indian Ministry of External Affairs in July 2016 as Deputy Minister, representing India abroad at multinational conferences.
On Wednesday, he thanked Modi, who had remained silent on the charges, for having had the opportunity to perform official duties.
In the deeply conservative society of India, the # MeToo movement started late, but has picked up speed in recent weeks. Since September, Indian actresses have flooded social media with allegations of sexual harassment and assaults by their superiors and colleagues.
The series of charges against Akbar began when journalist Priya Ramani identified her on Twitter on Oct. 8 as being the unnamed editor she had described in an article on sexual harassment in a press room published in Vogue last year.
Other women in the media claimed that Akbar had interviewed candidates for the night shift in hotel rooms. groping, massaging and forcibly kissing young trainees and employees; and offered young women top positions outside the city so that they could visit them.
On Sunday, back from an official visit to West Africa, Akbar denied the accusations, calling them "false, baseless and savage".
The next day, dozens of members of the youth branch of the Congress Party clashed with police in front of Akbar's home in New Delhi, demanding his resignation.
Akbar then initiated criminal proceedings against Ramani and issued a statement in which he questioned the motives of his accusers.
"Why did this storm come up a few months before the general election," he asked.
Modi hopes to stay in power in elections scheduled for early next year.
On Tuesday, 20 women signed a statement asking the court to accuse Akbar's case against Ramani in order to allow them to testify against him.
Ramini wrote on Twitter on Wednesday: "As women, we feel justified by the resignation of MJ Akbar. I look forward to the day I will also ask for justice in #MeToo court "
Arti Jerath, a journalist and political commentator who is not one of Akbar's accusers, said his resignation should have happened sooner.
"The fact that he chose to brave things has become embarrassing and embarrassing for the government," she said. "I'm glad he's finally gone."
