New Delhi, Oct 13: A delegation of women BJP MPs met Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla on Thursday and demanded action against Congress MP Angomcha Bimol Akoijam, who was recently sacked as a professor at Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) amid sexual harassment allegations.
After the meeting, BJP MP D Purandeswari said the delegation drew the Speaker’s attention to the allegations against Akoijam and urged him to take appropriate action.
“We told the Speaker that the JNU internal committee has held the Congress MP guilty. We urged the Speaker to refer the matter to the Parliament Ethics Committee and also consider whether Akoijam should continue as a Lok Sabha member,” Purandeswari said.
“The Speaker assured us that he will look into the matter and also consider if it should be referred to the Ethics Committee,” she added.
Akoijam, the MP of Inner Manipur who was a professor at the Centre for the Study of Social Systems under the School of Social Sciences at JNU, was dismissed with immediate effect on October 9 after an inquiry into the sexual harassment allegations against him.
He has, however, denied the charges.
At least 11 female students complained against Akoijam in May this year.
The complainants alleged that the professor invited students to his campus residence on the pretext of meetings or gatherings and attempted to harass them sexually.
Some students alleged that he also made obscene and inappropriate remarks in class.
Based on a complaint lodged by the JNU’s chief security officer, an FIR was registered against Akoijam on Sunday on charges of sexual harassment and insulting the modesty of a woman.
Six BJP MPs, who were part of the delegation that met Speaker Om Birla, later held a press conference at the party headquarters.
They criticised the Congress leadership for not taking action against Akoijam until now and vowed to fight for justice for the JNU students who “showed courage” in filing a complaint against him. (PTI)