After almost two weeks of an avalanche of allegations of sexual harassment against him, Union Minister of State for External Affairs MJ Akbar finally tendered his resignation on Wednesday.

Akbar’s brief statement distanced the government from his alleged predatory behaviour as he underlined that he had decided to seek justice in a court of law in his “personal capacity”.

“I deem it appropriate to step down from office and challenge false accusations levied against me, also in a personal capacity. I have, therefore, tendered my resignation,” Akbar said. He also expressed gratitude to Prime Minister Narendra Modi and External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj for giving him the opportunity to serve the country.

Barring Smriti Irani and Maneka Gandhi, everyone in the Union Cabinet and the Prime Minister had maintained a studied silence nearly 20 women came forward in the last fortnight to narrate experiences of alleged sexual harassment at the hands of Akbar.

Akbar underlined that he is fighting the allegations in his “personal capacity”, indicating that the government, which has been dithering over the issue — perhaps out of fear of similar campaigns being unleashed against others — could no longer weather the storm that has been gathering as a part of the #MeToo campaign.

A number of women journalists have named Akbar as having abused his position as Editor to make unwelcome sexual advances.

When the allegations first surfaced last week, Akbar was on an overseas visit. He returned from Nigeria on Sunday only to take an aggressive stand against the women who had accused him. He denied all allegations and proceeded to file a case this Monday against Priya Ramani, who was among the first journalists to have named Akbar as a sexual predator.

By Thursday, there was outrage spilling out of social media from women, who recounted their traumatic experiences while working with Akbar. A day after Akbar filed a criminal defamation case against Ramani, 20 former and current employees of The Asian Age , where Akbar was Editor, asked the Metropolitan Magistrate in Delhi’s Patiala House to consider their testimonies against him.

In a statement, the journalists supported Ramani for calling out Akbar’s allegedly predatory behaviour at The Asian Age . “What Mr Akbar has demonstrated through his legal actions in his refusal to introspect, acknowledge or atone for his actions that have caused immense pain and indeed harm to many many women over the years,” they said.

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