New Delhi: Junior external affairs minister M J Akbar is likely to lose the job after several of his former colleagues accused him of sexual harassment. Akbar, a former newspaper editor, is likely to be shown the door after he returns from Nigeria on Sunday.
Akbar was one of the high-profile journalists exposed by dozens of women journalists who took to social media as part of the #MeToo movement. He found little support from within the BJP or the government, sources in the party said.
Even his colleagues in the ministry, women and child welfare minister Maneka Gandhi and textiles minister Smriti Irani, spoke out against him. Gandhi demanded an investigation into the allegations while Irani put the ball in Akbar's court, saying it was up to him to decide whether he should resign.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi is unlikely to back Akbar ahead of the crucial assembly elections. A section of the BJP leadership wants the government to clear itself of the embarrassment by sacking Akbar. Party general secretary Kailash Vijayvargiya said that the government had to decide whether to keep the minister or not.
The CPM has also demanded the resignation of Akbar. How many more women have to come out for the government to break its silence, the party asked.
Akbar, who is visiting Lagos as part of the 150th birth anniversary celebration of Mahatma Gandhi, will return to Delhi on Sunday. There were unconfirmed reports that Modi had asked him to cut short his visit and fly back immediately.
Read more: Latest India news
