The Assam Congress issued a show-cause notice to Ms Dutta on Thursday and asked her to explain why disciplinary action should not be taken against her within 24 hours.
The Assam Congress has sacked its former youth wing chief, who accused the Indian Youth Congress president Srinivas BV of harassment and discrimination. She has been suspended for six years for “anti-party” activities.
The BJP hit out at the grand old party, taking a swipe at its “model of women empowerment”. The ruling party also called Congress General Secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra’s slogan “ladki hoon lad sakti hoon (I’m a woman, I can fight)” hollow.
“This is Congress’s model of women empowerment! Sack the woman who alleged harassment instead of providing a platform to hear her grievances. The manner in which she has been removed from the Congress is uninspiring for women. ladki hoon lad sakti hoon is a hollow slogan,” BJP said.
According to sources, the Assam Pradesh Congress Committee (APCC) found the woman’s allegations “baseless and politically motivated” and took disciplinary action against her for tarnishing the image of the party and its leaders.
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The woman had filed a complaint against Mr. Srinivas at Dispur police station on Wednesday and was summoned by the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) of Assam Police on Thursday. She accused the Congress leader of being “sexist and chauvinistic”. The National Commission for Women (NCW) had also asked the Assam Police to probe the charges.
Sources said that the CID is likely to register a First Information Report or FIR against Mr. Srinivas based on her complaint and will conduct a thorough investigation into the matter.
The complainant had alleged that Mr. Srinivas and another IYC leader, Vardhan Yadav, had discriminated against her based on her gender and had used foul language to threaten her.
She had also claimed that she had informed the party leadership, including former Congress president Rahul Gandhi and general secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, about the issue but no action was taken.
Mr Srinivas, who is currently campaigning for the Congress in Karnataka ahead of the assembly elections next month, had denied the allegations and filed a defamation suit against Ms. Dutta for using “unparliamentary and defamatory” words against him.
The Assam Congress issued a show-cause notice to Ms Dutta on Thursday and asked her to explain why disciplinary action should not be taken against her within 24 hours.
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