NEW DELHI: The Congress women’s wing has criticised the government for dissolving a group of ministers that was formed last year to revisit laws related to sexual harassment at workplace following the MeToo campaign.
The list of alleged perpetrators included former editor M J Akbar, a minister in the Modi government, who had to resign when many women journalists accused him of grave sexual offences in the past. The government also announced a committee under the then home minister Rajnath Singh. But it has now emerged, through response to an RTI query, that the panel was dissolved after formation of the new government.
“With statistics of crimes against women and children looming large, the least the Women and Child Welfare Minister could’ve done was to initiate a discussion on ways to improvise the committee’s scope and functioning,” AIMC president Sushmita Dev said, demanding that WCD minister Smriti Irani reconstitute a multiparty committee.