Inner Manipur MP Angomcha Bimol Akoijam has asserted that the sexual harassment allegations against him levelled by Jawaharlal Nehru University's women students are linked to his criticism of the handling of the ethnic conflict in the state.
The MP, who worked as a professor at the prestigious university in Delhi, was sacked last week after at least eleven women accused him of sexual harassment and an internal committee found him guilty on nine counts.
A case has been filed against him in Delhi. The BJP has demanded his removal from the Congress.
He called the action against him a "witch hunt" launched to silence him.
He rejected the BJP's allegation that he was staying in Manipur to avoid facing the case in New Delhi.
"This is my constituency. I am not an MP from Delhi. I am an MP from Manipur," he said.
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Akoijam alleged that the first information report (FIR) was part of an attempt to intimidate him for raising issues linked to Manipur and challenging what he described as the erosion of constitutional norms and institutional independence.
Questioning the basis of the police complaint, the MP accused JNU Vice-Chancellor Santishree Dhulipudi Pandit of misrepresenting facts about his cooperation with the university's Internal Complaints Committee (ICC) inquiry.
He said he had submitted a written response on May 31 and appeared before the ICC in July. He further claimed that witnesses on his behalf had deposed before the committee on August 14.
Rejecting allegations that he had failed to cooperate, Akoijam challenged the Vice-Chancellor's claim that she had sent him around 300 emails, saying he had received only about 40 to 43.
"She is lying, one after another," he alleged, accusing the university administration of using the proceedings as a pretext to harass him and suppress his political voice.
The allegations against the university authorities could not be independently verified.
'Rahul Gandhi Is Not Protecting Me'
Responding to the BJP's allegation that Congress leader Rahul Gandhi was protecting him, Akoijam dismissed the charge, accusing the ruling party of dragging Gandhi into the controversy to divert attention from broader political issues.
"How? How is protecting me?" he asked.
Akoijam alleged that he had been singled out as a relatively easy target because he was a parliamentarian from Manipur who had challenged powerful interests over the handling of the state's crisis.
"They chose a soft target, an MP from Manipur," he said, maintaining that attempts to silence him would not succeed.
"They wanted to silence Manipur. They put the crisis under the carpet from the beginning, and I broke that silence," he added.
The MP also criticised what he described as the selective application of accountability by the BJP, challenging the party to address allegations involving its own leaders instead of targeting political opponents.
Warns Of Public Anger
Akoijam warned that attempts to silence him could deepen public anger in Manipur, cautioning that the consequences might extend beyond party politics.
"Manipur will go up in flame if they insult the state this way," he said, while appealing to people not to direct their resentment towards the Indian state or the country as a whole.
Reiterating that legal action would not deter him, Akoijam declared: "You pin me down, there will be hundreds and thousands of Bimols from Manipur."
Akoijam maintained that the FIR was an attempt to intimidate him over his political interventions. The precise grounds of the FIR and the allegations underlying it require confirmation from the police complaint and official records.
Rejecting claims that he failed to cooperate with the inquiry, Akoijam cited his written response submitted on May 31, his appearance before the ICC on July 16, and defence witnesses' depositions on August 14.