RSS worker accuses BJP IT cell head of 'sexual exploitation'

Bengaluru/New Delhi, NT Bureau: Just weeks after the Prajwal Revanna sexual abuse case rocked the political scenario in the country, the Congress party on Monday alleged another sex scandal and sought action against Bharatiya Janata Party’s IT Cell chief Amit Malviya after a member of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh(RSS) alleged that Malviya ‘indulged’ in sexual exploitation of women.

The RSS, a pro-Hindu organisation, is considered the ideological mentor of the BJP.

“An RSS member, Shantanu Sinha, related to BJP leader Rahul Sinha, has claimed that the BJP IT Cell head Amit Malviya indulged in nefarious activities and the sexual exploitation of women. This happened not just in 5-star hotels but also in BJP offices in West Bengal,” claimed Congress leader Supriya Shrinate at a press conference.

“The only action we seek from the BJP is justice for women. The reality is that less than 24 hours after PM Modi was sworn in, serious charges of sexual exploitation have been levelled against a very prominent office bearer of the BJP, the head of its IT cell. Today we seek the immediate removal of Amit Malviya from his position. It’s an extremely influential position,” she added.

Meanwhile, Malviya has filed a defamation suit of Rs 10 crore against the member of the RSS who accused him of sexually exploiting women.

Malviya is a controversial pro-Hindutva figure who has been accused of hate speech against Muslims and of spreading fake information on social media.

In the notice, Malviya's lawyer said Sinha, in a post on Facebook, made "some false and defamatory allegations" with an intention to harm his client's reputation. Shrinate said, “We are not levelling these allegations.

A member of the RSS has made these grave charges of sexual exploitation against Malviya. Santanu Sinha has said that Malviya indulged in nefarious acts not just in five-star hotels but also at the offices of the BJP in West Bengal."

Shrinate also claimed that Malviya, as the head of the BJP’s IT cell, had repeatedly distorted the speeches of Congress leader Rahul Gandhi and had spread doctored clips to portray the Congress leader in poor light.

Malviya did not spare even Jawaharlal Nehru, the country’s first prime minister, Shrinate added. Taking a jibe at Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Shrinate said she hopes the BJP will mend its ways after losing 63 seats in the general elections.

“We hope he (Modi) will learn humility, and he will learn that he cannot consistently stand with people who exploit women,” she said.

Malviya’s counsel sent a legal notice to the man, Santanu Sinha, on Saturday, saying: “The nature of allegations are extremely offensive in as much as, they falsely allege sexual misconduct purportedly committed by my client. The same is fatally injurious to the dignity and reputation of my client who, by virtue of his professional profile, is a public figure.”

BETI BACHAO FROM BJP LEADERS?

• Kunal Pandey, one of the three BJP IT cell members arrested in connection with the alleged gangrape of a student inside the IITBHU campus.
• Ex-BJP MP Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh was charged with sexual harassment stalking, outraging modesty of women, criminal intimidation in a case involving five women wrestlers.
• Prajwal Revanna, the 33-yearold former Hassan JD(S) MP, an ally of BJP, was accused of sexually abusing multiple women after a huge cache of explicit videos went viral showing women being sexually assaulted, allegedly by him.
• Sandeep Singh, exHaryana minister for sports, accused of sexually harassing, outraging the modesty, stalking, illegally confining, and criminal intimidating a junior athletics coach.
• BJP MLA Ramdular Gaur was recently found guilty of raping a minor in Sonbhadra in 2014.
• Kanhaiya Lal Mishra was accused of raping a woman at a lodge and was later arrested for the same.
• Swami Chinmayanand was accused of rape by a law student and was later arrested. The student recorded a video alleging that she was raped and "physically exploited" by Chinmayanand for a year and uploaded the video on social media in 2019.
• Sandeep Singh, ex Haryana BJP minister for sports, accused of sexually harassing, outraging the modesty, stalking, illegally confining, and criminal intimidating a junior athletics coach.