The '#MeToo' storm hit the Congress with the president of its students' wing Fairoz Khan forced to quit over allegations of sexual harassment by a woman party worker from Chhattisgarh.
Congress sought to assume a moral high ground asserting that the National Students Union of India (NSUI) president had quit following allegations of corruption levelled against him and hit out at Union minister M J Akbar for digging in heels despite being called out by 16 women journalists.
The allegations against Khan had first surfaced in June when the woman approached party leaders, including Congress president Rahul Gandhi.
Khan's resignation came after a three-member internal committee chaired Mahila Congress chief Sushmita Dev submitted its report to the Congress leadership after a detailed examination of the allegations against Khan.
The woman had filed a police complaint against Khan in September.
“The Congress president has accepted Khan's resignation,” AICC spokesman Manish Tewari told reporters in New Delhi.
Tewari said that the resignation does not mean that Khan was guilty and indicated that he could be considered for a party post “when facts would reveal themselves”.
Khan is now expected to contest the allegations against him in court.
“There is a difference between traditions and traditions. During the UPA government any minister facing allegations would quit on moral grounds quite unlike what we see in the NDA,” Tewari said.
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