Indian Minister resigns to fight sexual harassment accusations

New Delhi (Reuters) - Union minister M. J. Akbar resigned on Wednesday, saying he was doing so in order to fight accusations of sexual harassment levied by several women, the most high-profile casualty of a growing #MeToo movement.

More than a dozen women have accused M. J. Akbar, a junior foreign minister, of a range of inappropriate behaviour during his career as a journalist before entering politics.

He has denied the accusations and filed a lawsuit against one of the women for defaming him.

“Since I have decided to seek justice in a court of law in my personal capacity, I deem it appropriate to step down from office and challenge false accusations levied against me in a personal capacity,” the news agency ANI, a Reuters partner, quoted Akbar as saying in a statement. The #MeToo movement, which began in the United States more than a year ago in response to accusations of sexual harassment and abuse by powerful men in the entertainment industry, gained traction in India in late September after the actress Tanushree Dutta said actor Nana Patekar behaved inappropriately on the sets of a film they were shooting in 2008.

Patekar has denied any wrongdoing.

Since then, more than a dozen men in the media, entertainment, political and art worlds have been accused of offences, ranging from sexual harassment to rape.

“As women we feel vindicated by MJ Akbar’s resignation. I look forward to the day when I will also get justice in court,” journalist Priya Ramani, who was the first to accuse Akbar, said in a tweet.

Akbar has filed a defamation suit against her.