BJP Protests Congress Shielding of MP Angomcha Bimol Akoijam

The Bharatiya Janata Party staged coordinated protests across India on October 12, demanding the removal of Congress MP Angomcha Bimol Akoijam. Demonstrators, including the BJP Mahila Morcha and BJP Yuva Morcha, targeted Congress offices in Srinagar and Belagavi, where they attempted to gherao headquarters and burned an effigy of Rahul Gandhi. BJP MP Bansuri Swaraj accused Gandhi of shielding Akoijam, whom she characterized as a predator.

The protests follow the October 9 decision by Jawaharlal Nehru University to terminate Akoijam's services as a professor. An internal committee found complaints from at least 11 female students to be true, alleging that Akoijam used meetings at his residence as pretexts for harassment and made obscene remarks during viva examinations. On October 12, Delhi Police registered a first information report against Akoijam under the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita for sexual harassment and insulting a woman's modesty.

Akoijam has denied all charges, describing the allegations as a witch hunt based on fabrication and malicious complaints. In Srinagar, the demonstrations led to confrontations between BJP and Congress workers, requiring police intervention to disperse the crowds. In Belagavi, police detained protesters who attempted to enter the local Congress office.