The Congress on Monday demanded the removal of Amit Malviya as the chief of the BJP’s IT Cell, in the wake of allegations of sexual exploitation levelled against him by the brother of his party’s former national secretary Rahul Sinha.
Virtually echoing the allegations made by Sinha’s brother, Shantanu Sinha, the chairperson of the Congress’s social media and digital platforms Supriya Shrinate alleged that Malviya — also a co-minder for the BJP in Bengal — exploited women not just in star hotels but also in the BJP’s Bengal offices.
Demanding justice for the women affected by this, Shrinate said: “Whether it is Hathras, or Lakhimpur or Shahjahanpur, or our most decorated athletes, or Uttarakhand, or Bilkis Bano, the Prime Minister has consistently given political patronage and support to perpetrators of the crime.” “It’s high time you stand with women. It’s high time you stand with India’s daughters, and unless and until you do not address their plight, you have no business to be in power,” added the CWC member.
According to the Congress, no proper probe will be possible if Malviya remains in office, given the influence he wields.
“He cannot continue in that position of authority and influence if justice indeed has to be done. He is the same man who has perpetrated one lie after the other…. He has not even spared India’s first Prime Minister, Nehru,” said Shrinate. “He has cut and snipped Rahul Gandhi’s media bites, his statements, his addresses. He has crossed every limit of morality and decency in public life…. A man like this is influential within the BJP system and we want his immediate removal for an independent probe to happen,” she added.
The Congress attack came after similar diatribe from Trinamool Congress here and others in the INDIA space nationally, following the widely circulated social media post by Shantanu Sinha, whose younger brother Rahul is a former state unit chief of the BJP.
Malviya has already sent a legal notice to Sinha — who purportedly is a member of the RSS — seeking a public apology and Rs 10 crore in damages.
“I, the undersigned, therefore call upon you to issue a public apology and take down/remove your defamatory statement(s) given against my client across all public platforms within three (3) days of receipt of this legal notice, failing which my client will be constrained to take appropriate legal action against you, including prosecuting you for civil and criminal defamation at your risk and cost,” read the notice from Malviya’s lawyer.
Sinha later told journalists that his social media post was not particularly aimed at anyone — although he specifically mentioned Malviya in it — and that he simply demanded answers from the state unit leadership. “I wanted to put the state BJP leaders to question, those who use dubious means to please the Delhi bosses, to cling to their posts here,” he said, claiming that his post was being misinterpreted.
“I stand my ground on whatever I have said. I have not withdrawn the post,” said Sinha, who sought time to respond to the legal notice.
