In the wake of #MeToo movement gathering steam across the country, a Tripura minister was captured in a video groping a fellow colleague, a female minister. The incident took place on the stage in the presence of Prime Minister Narendra Modi. This video is going viral on social media and has sparked off a major controversy with the opposition demanding that minister Manoj Kanti Deb should be fired and charged with sexual harassment.
On Monday, a protest rally took place in Agartala that was also attended by Tripura Chief Minister Biplab Deb. The protesters demanded that Deb be sacked for "touching" the woman in an "indecent manner". However, the authenticity of the video is yet to be verified.
READ: #MeToo India: MJ Akbar resigns as multiple women accuse him of sexual harassment
"Manoj Kanti Deb must be sacked and be arrested for touching the woman minister in an extremely indecent manner on the stage from where Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Chief Minister Biplab Kumar Deb and others addressed the public gathering," Left Front convener Bijan Dhar told the media, NDTV reported.
The video appeared publicly on various social media websites. If the video is watched carefully, we can see Deb put his hand on the waist of Social Welfare and Social Education Minister Santana Chakma, a young tribal leader.
"The male minister has publicly harmed the modesty, sanctity and dignity of the lone woman minister of Tripura at a public platform where the Prime Minister, the Chief Minister and other important personalities were present," Dhar said.
However, BJP spokesperson Nabendu Bhattacharjee, asked, "The woman minister has never made any statement and complaint on the issue raised by the Left parties. Why are the Left parties doing this dirty politics?"
Stories By Ria Das
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