MJ Akbar, accused of sexual assault, must quit: Cong

Mumbai: As the #MeToo movement continues to intensify, political leaders, too, have taken a stand and spoken against junior foreign minister and former editor MJ Akbar. 

Akbar is facing serious sexual harassment allegations by women journalists during his stint as an editor of some of the leading dailies.

At a press conference on Wednesday, Congress leader Jaipal Reddy said, "Union Minister MJ Akbar should either give a satisfactory answer to the allegations or he should resign."

Reddy also demanded an inquiry into the matter. 

On allegations against Akbar, Women and Child Development Minister Maneka Gandhi said, "Men who are in positions of power often do this. And it applies to the media as well as to politics or senior personnel in companies." 

She added that women have started talking and their allegations should be taken seriously.

However, External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj on Tuesday evaded questions whether the government will take any action against Union Minister MJ Akbar.

Not only Akbar, stories of anger and guilt that had been buried for years started emerging after journalist Sandhya Menon recouted, on Twitter, of the sexual harassment she allegedly faced from two senior editors, KR Sreenivas from Times of India and former editor-in-chief of DNA Gautam Adhikari.

The #MeToo movement has intensified in the country with more women recounting their experiences of sexual harassment in the entertainment and media industry.

(With inputs from agencies)