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Panel of legal experts to look into issues coming out from #MeToo movement

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Panel of legal experts to look into issues coming out from #MeToo movement

The government will establish a committee of senior judicial and legal persons to examine the flood of sexual harassment complaints as the #MeToo movement picked up in India.

Union Minister for Women and Child Development Maneka Gandhi said on Friday, October 12, that the committee will include four retired judges and a ”strong lawyer as an amicus” and will “conduct independent hearings”.

The committee will look into the “legal & institutional framework which is in place for handling complaints” of sexual harassment at work, including some of the complaints if required, and “advise” the WCD ministry “on how to strengthen these frameworks,” said the WCD Ministry in a tweet.

The move comes in the midst of a surge of instances of more and more women going public with their experiences of sexual harassment at the hands of filmmakers, journalists, corporate bosses and, among others, Minister of State for External Affairs MJ Akbar.

Chairperson of the Delhi Commission for Women Swati Maliwal wrote a letter to the Prime Minister, demanding MoS MJ Akbar’s resignation after several women came out accusing him of sexual harassment, and even molestation, when he was an editor, stating that “such person must not remain on important position”.

Maliwal said that Akbar “must be expelled from the government immediately and investigation should be conducted” and urged the Prime Minister to “make an inquiry committee to deal with all complaints related to #MeToo campaign so that justice can be delivered to aggrieved women”.

Some are of the view that the government’s move is to control damage. Lawyer and women’s rights activist Vrinda Grover was reported as saying that “If the government is serious, first let them ask the minister of state MJ Akbar to step down.”

“We also know that committees of this kind are often constituted so that the government can control and channelize the conversation, which clearly is now challenging very powerful men,” she said.

Maneka Gandhi said in a tweet: “I believe in the pain and trauma behind every single complaint. Cases of #sexualharassmentatwork must be dealt with a policy of zero tolerance.”

In an interview to Doordarshan News, Gandhi said that “for many years” there was a burden on women, that even if they were “humiliated” verbally or by touch, “the woman never used to speak up, even if she was 80 years old”. But now, they have “found the strength”.

The committee, she said, will include four retired judges and a ”strong lawyer as an amicus” and will “conduct independent hearings”.

The public hearings will not be for individual complaints, but where stakeholders can come and depose before the committee if they wish to, a process similar to the one followed by the Justice Verma Committee that was set up to reform the laws against rape after the December 16, 2012 gangrape incident that jolted the nation and led to a public outcry over women safety.

In another statement issued Friday, Gandhi said that she wants workplaces to be made “more conducive to women employees”, Internal Complaints Committees (ICC) to be set up, as required by law, “more functional trustworthy systems to be put in place” and compliance reported in the public domain. She said that investigation into the complaints should be carried out “swiftly in a free and fair manner”.

Her ministry, she said, follows a “zero tolerance policy” towards sexual harassment of women at work places. The institutional framework as per the Sexual Harassment of Women at workplace (Prevention, Prohibition and Redressal) Act of 2013 has been put in place, she said, “to ensure harassment-free workplaces covering all women” of all ages, whether in full-time and part-time, public and private sector, organised or unorganised sectors and includes domestic workers, students, apprentices and even women visiting offices.

Apart from the ICC, she said, additional mechanisms, like a dedicated ‘She-Box” portal can be put in place which can be used by women to report grievances. Women can also write to her Ministry or tweet to it using #HelpMeWCD hashtag, and it will take it up with the authorities concerned, she said.

She urged women from all sectors to “come out fearlessly and report cases of any form of sexual harassment” and said, “we shall ensure all possible assistance”.

On Thursday, Union Minister for Textiles Smriti Irani had joined the voices against sexual harassment and said that women are taking a “big risk” by speaking out and should not be judged. On the allegations against Akbar, Irani said it is for the “gentleman himself” to respond.

She said, “do not judge those who are speaking out right now. They are mothers, daughters and wives. They are taking a big risk and it must be very difficult for them to speak out”. She said women do not go to work “to be pawed, you do not come to work to be flirted with, you do not come to work to adjust”. Women, she said go to work to make a living and “live a dream”.

India News

Swati Maliwal reacts to viral video, refers accused as political hitman

The Rajya Sabha MP added that the political hitman is getting his people to tweet and play videos without any context.

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Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) Rajya Sabha MP Swati Maliwal has reacted to the viral video, allegedly shot at Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal’s residence. The video shows the Rajya Sabha MP in a heated confrontation with the staff. 

Reacting to the viral video on X, formerly Twitter, Swati Maliwal said that like every time, this political hitman has started efforts to save himself.  She was apparently referring to Bibhav Kumar, whom she accused of assaulting her. 

The Rajya Sabha MP added that the political hitman is getting his people to tweet and play videos without any context. She added that the truth will be revealed to everyone as soon as the CCTV footage of the house and the room is checked.

She concluded that he may fall to whatever level he can, but God is watching everything, and one day everyone’s truth will come out in front of the world. Earlier, Swati Maliwal has alleged that she was assaulted by the Chief Minister’s personal assistant, Bibhav Kumar, when she sought time to meet the Chief Minister that day. 

In the viral video, shared across the social media platforms, Swati Maliwal can be seen engaged in a heated exchange with staff members who are requesting her to exit the drawing room. 

In the footage, Bibhav Kumar, Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal’s former PA implicated in the assault allegations, is seen present in the room while other staff are speaking with Swati Maliwal. Additionally, MP Swati Maliwal is also heard issuing a threat to one of the staff members, vowing to ensure their job termination. However, the authenticity of the video remains unverified.

In the formal complaint lodged with the Delhi Police, Swati Maliwal detailed a disturbing sequence of events, alleging that Bibhav Kumar subjected her to multiple instances of physical violence. Maliwal alleged that Bibhav Kumar repeatedly slapped her at least seven to eight times while she continued to cry. She also said that she was dragged and kicked in the chest, stomach, and pelvis area.

The complaint stated that when she entered the office and attempted to reach the Chief Minister’s PA, Bibhav Kumar, she was unable to find him. She then entered the residence and was told to wait in the drawing room, when Bibhav Kumar suddenly entered, shouting and abusing her. The alleged assault took place on May 13, when she visited the Civil Lines residence of Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal. 

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ED names Arvind Kejriwal, AAP as accused in Delhi excise policy case

Arvind Kejriwal was taken into custody on March 21. The Supreme Court last Friday granted him interim bail.

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Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal has been named toady as a prime accused by the Enforcement Directorate in a new supplemental chargesheet in the money laundering case pertaining to the now-scrapped Delhi liquor excise policy 2021–2022.

The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) has been identified as an accused in the case by the central inquiry agency.

In the excise policy case, the ED informed the Supreme Court that it had found conversations between Arvind Kejriwal and hawala operators about the purported profits of crime.

The organization said that since Kejriwal declined to provide the password to his devices, the chats were retrieved from the hawala operators’devices.

Kejriwal filed a plea contesting the legality of his arrest by the EnforcementDirectorate, and the top court has reserved its decision. It allowed the Delhi Chief Minister to petition the trial court for bail without compromising his legal rights and appeals before the Supreme Court.

The CM filed a plea contesting the legality of his arrest by the EnforcementDirectorate, and the top court has reserved its decision. It allowed the Delhi Chief Minister to petition the trial court for bail without compromising his legal rights and appeals before the Supreme Court.

After the Delhi CM ignored nine summonses from the ED, he was taken into custody on March 21. The Supreme Court last Friday granted him interim bail. Last month, bail was granted for Sanjay Singh, his party colleague. Two other leaders of the party, Manish Sisodia and Satyendar Jain, remain incarcerated.

On August 22, 2022, the ED filed a money laundering case in response to a CBI FIR that had been filed on August 17, 2022, in order to investigate suspected anomalies in the DelhiExcise policy of 2021–2022.

Following Delhi Lieutenant Governor V K Saxena’s recommendation for an investigation into purported irregularities in the formulation and execution of the liquor policy, the CBI had filed a FIR.

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2024 Lok Sabha Elections

Rahul Gandhi says Congress will give 10kg free ration if elected to power

He also recalled that during the UPA government, the Congress has given legal status to the right to food through the Food Security Act.

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Ahead of the fifth phase of the Lok Sabha election, Senior Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Friday said that the Congress will provide 10 Kg free ration to the poor families if elected to power. He added that 10 Kg ration along with Rs 8500 per month will promote education and self-employment among millions in the country.

Taking to social media platform X, formerly Twitter, Rahul Gandhi said that Congress has taken another big decision for the poor families of the country. He promised that his party will give 10 Kg free ration, instead of 5Kg. He also recalled that during the UPA government, the Congress has given legal status to the right to food through the Food Security Act. and that 10 Kg free ration will be the next step in the direction.

Accusing Prime Minister Narendra Modi of running a government of Adani, and making 20-25 billionaires, the senior Congress leader said that Congress will make crores of millionaires and run the government of Indians. Earlier, Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge also promised to provide 10Kg free ration if voted to power.

Meanwhile, Congress General Secretary Priyanka Gandhi on Thursday slammed BJP’s 5Kg ration policy at an election rally in Uttar Pradesh’s Raebareli, where Rahul Gandhi is contesting. She said that 5Kg ration will not make one self-reliant, but employment will. She explained the electorates need to understand that political parties whose ideologies make people dependent is not right. She concluded that voters will choose employment over 5Kg ration that BJP promises.

Along with 10Kg free ration, Congress has also promised to start recuitment process for 30 lakh government post by August 15. The Party also vowed to provide the youth their first job of Rs 1 lakh per year. It also guranteed better working conditions, pensions and social security for the work force of the gig economy.

Furthermore, the Congress also promised start-up funds for young entrepreneurs at district levels from the national funds of Rs 5000 crore. The party also pledged to give National minimum wage of Rs400 per day, including all MGNREGS workers, and stop contractualisation of employment in core government functions.

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