Assam Congress’s Show-Cause Notice To Leader Over Harassment Charges

BV Srinivas responded to the charges with a defamation suit (File)

New Delhi:

The Assam Congress has issued a show-case notice to a former youth wing chief after she levelled harassment charges against a party colleague. The notice was issued to Angkita Dutta, who accused Youth Congress chief BV Srinivas of being “sexist and chauvinistic”, after the National Commission for Women (NCW) asked the Assam Police to probe the charges.

Ms Dutta has been given 24 hours to reply as to why disciplinary action should not be taken against her, according to the notice.

Assam Congress also raised questions over the timing of her allegations, pointing to next month’s Karnataka elections, for which Mr Srinivas has been campaigning.

“It has also been found that as long as you were President APYC things were fine. But as soon as you were removed as President APYC due to the electoral process you not only refused to contest the Youth Congress Election but you also started bad mouthing the President IYC for removing you. Such a stand goes against party discipline,” the notice read.

In a series of tweets on Tuesday, Ms Dutta alleged Mr Srinivas and another Congress leader discriminated against her based on her gender.

The Youth Congress chief responded with a defamation suit, for allegedly using “unparliamentary and defamatory” words against him.

Ms Dutta claimed she had complained within the organization for months, but nothing happened. “I am on the verge of losing self-respect now because I am an educated woman and I work for women’s issues,” she said.

The police are yet to register a case in this matter.

Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma has termed the issue an “internal matter” of the Congress party. “She has complained to Rahul Gandhi, not me. If I act then they will question why I am concerned about Congress’s internal matter,” he said, adding that the government will not intervene until she complains to him.

Leader of the Opposition in the Assam assembly, Debabrata Saikia, has dismissed the allegations as an attempt to tarnish the Congress’s image.

“The issue is an internal matter of the party. It should not have gone out in the public domain…In the circumstances and the way things have developed, I am quite certain of a political motive behind all this. I cannot blame anybody without ascertaining the facts,” the Congress leader said.