New Delhi (CNN)An Indian government minister has hit back at a series of allegations of sexual harassment, rejecting calls to step down, after he became the most prominent public figure to be named in what’s been dubbed India’s #MeToo movement.
MJ Akbar, junior minister for foreign affairs in Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government and a former influential newspaper editor, has over the past week been accused by former female colleagues of groping, assault and harassment.
Responding to the allegations after returning to the Indian capital from an official visit abroad, Akbar called the allegations “false and fabricated” and questioned their timing, hinting at a political campaign against him as India prepares for general elections next year.
