New Delhi, Oct 11 (IANS) The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)’s Mahila Morcha has announced a protest march to the Congress headquarters on Monday, over its alleged “protection and patronage” of a party MP despite him being ‘held guilty’ of sexual exploitation of female students at the prestigious Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU).
The BJP’s Mahila Morcha said on Sunday that its protest march will start from the ‘Andhra Education Society School’ on Deen Dayal Upadhyaya Marg at 11 a.m. on Monday and will proceed to the Congress headquarters, ‘Indira Bhawan’, followed by a demonstration in front of the headquarters.
The agitation titled ‘Nari Shakti Hunkar Andolan’ is against the “political protection” provided to Congress MP Angomcha Bimol Akoijam, despite him being dismissed from the Jawaharlal Nehru University over alleged sexual harassment of 11 female students.
The demonstration will be led by BJP Mahila Morcha National President Roop Kumari Chaudhary and Mahila Morcha In-charge Daggubati Purandeswari and will see several party women MPs, MLAs, Councillors and party’s Mahila Morcha workers taking to the streets to register strong protest against “anti-women and hypocritical” conduct of the Congress and Rahul Gandhi.
The controversy erupted sometime ago over the serving Congress MP as well as professor, being accused of sexually exploiting girls over examination marks.
The University, in its internal committee report on October 9, found the charges against him “substantiated” and subsequently dismissed him.
“Despite significant action and outcry from 11 female students, the silence of Rahul Gandhi, Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, and Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge proves that entire Congress party stands firmly with its MP in support of this heinous act, providing him with full protection,” the BJP’s Women Wing said in a statement.
It alleged that the “silence” from Rahul Gandhi and the Congress leadership is no coincidence and rather part of a long-standing pattern of shielding offenders.
It also claimed that several female leaders previously exposed heinous practices, such as the “casting couch” within the party but the grand old party kept shielding the perpetrators.
“In 2023, amid allegations of harassment and gender discrimination, the Congress expelled the complainant—Ankita Dutta—rather than the accused, B.V. Srinivas,” it said in a press note.
“In 2024, a case emerged involving the rape of minor girls by former Congress MLA Mewaram Jain from Barmer; the party expelled him only after his obscene videos went viral, yet recently, they reinstated him,” it alleged.
Making an unequivocal demand, the BJP Mahila Morcha says, “Rahul Gandhi must immediately expel the accused MP from the Congress, ensure his resignation from the Lok Sabha, and apologise to the 11 female students.”
–IANS
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