A minister in the Indian government has resigned after more than a dozen women accused him of sexual harassment, in the first major repercussion of the country’s nascent #MeToo movement.
Akbar’s resignation is the most high-profile departure since a delayed #MeToo movement took off in India on social media earlier this month.
The resignation came two days after Akbar said that he would pursue a criminal defamation case against journalist Priya Ramani, who had publicly named him as a sexual harasser on Twitter.
“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, also in a personal capacity,” Akbar said in a statement released on Wednesday afternoon.
After Ramani first spoke out against Akbar, more than a dozen women came forward with stories of sexual harassment and assault. This week 20 female journalists who had worked in Akbar’s newsrooms signed a statement in support of Ramani’s account.
