Minister of State for External Affairs MJ Akbar, who is facing allegations of sexual assault by number of women journalists, has reportedly tendered his resignation to the Prime Minister’s office.
According to the reports, the union minister sent his resignation via email. However, his resignation has not been accepted yet, said reports.
Akbar, who has been accused of sexual misconduct by several women journalists, returned to India from his official foreign trip to Nigeria earlier on Sunday.
Talking to reporters after arriving in New Delhi, the minister said that there will be a statement later.
Amid an increasing clamour for Union minister M J Akbar’s resignation, the BJP is likely to take a clear stand on the allegations of sexual harassment against him once he explains his position upon his scheduled return.
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The junior foreign minister, who has been on an official trip abroad, has so far not responded to the charges.
While the BJP has maintained a studied silence on the matter so far, party sources have said the charges against him are serious, and his continuance as a minister is no longer guaranteed. A final call will be taken by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, they said.
More than half a dozen women journalists have accused Akbar of sexual harassment and inappropriate behaviour at various stages of his journalistic career, during which he launched and edited several newspapers.
On Friday, US-based journalist Majlie de Puy Kamp told online news portal HuffPost India that Akbar forcibly kissed her on the last day of her internship at The Asian Age office in 2007.
Earlier this week, FORCE magazine Executive Editor Ghazala Wahab, in an article on a news portal, wrote an account of her “harrowing experience” with Akbar.
(With agency inputs)