Text Size: A- A+

Woman officer accuses Technical Education Minister Charanjit Singh Channi of sending her ‘inappropriate’ messages, opposition calls for his sacking.

Chandigarh: A woman IAS officer has accused cabinet minister Charanjit Singh Channi of sending her inappropriate messages on her mobile phone, marking the first #MeToo moment in Punjab.

While the incident is over a month old and was seemingly “sorted out” at the level of Chief Minister Captain Amarinder Singh, it has now come out in the open following the #MeToo campaign.

Opposition parties are now demanding action against Channi, who is the MLA from Chamkaur Sahib and the state’s technical education minister.

The chief minister, who is on an official tour to Israel, however, said that to the “best of his knowledge”, the matter was “resolved to the (woman) officer’s satisfaction”.

“The matter was brought to my notice some weeks ago and I had asked the minister to apologise and sort it out with the lady officer,” the chief minister said in a statement issued from Tel Aviv. “I understand he had done so to the satisfaction of the officer and thus the matter was resolved.”

Also read: After media houses, #MeToo hits India’s premier journalism school IIMC

Complaint and a ‘mistake’

Although no written complaint seems to have been forwarded by the woman officer, she brought the minister’s conduct to the notice of one of her seniors who then told the chief minister about it.

The woman officer has alleged that the minister sent her multiple messages to which she objected but he did not stop. Then when one of the messages was sent late at night, she decided to complain.

While Channi, who is on an official tour in Europe, could not be contacted, one of his close aides claimed that the minister had “by mistake” sent an Urdu couplet to the officer to which she objected.

“The minister then sent her a message regretting the earlier message, adding that it was a mistake. The next day he even called her to apologise,” said the aide.

The minister’s aide said the two had never worked together and apart from that one message, he had not sent her any other or ever called her up.

Opposition demands action

After an English daily highlighted the issue Wednesday, the opposition demanded action against Channi.

Calling for the minister to be sacked, the Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) president Sukhbir Singh Badal accused Congress president Rahul Gandhi of adopting double standards over the #MeToo campaign and dragging his feet in acting against the minister.

Also read: Vinod Rai’s panel still to act despite two #MeToo allegations against BCCI CEO Rahul Johri

AAP leader and Kharar MLA, Kanwar Sandhu, urged the chief minister to hold an inquiry, pending which the minister should step down from his position.

Subscribe to our channels on YouTube & Telegram

Why news media is in crisis & How you can fix it You are reading this because you value good, intelligent and objective journalism. We thank you for your time and your trust. You also know that the news media is facing an unprecedented crisis. It is likely that you are also hearing of the brutal layoffs and pay-cuts hitting the industry. There are many reasons why the media’s economics is broken. But a big one is that good people are not yet paying enough for good journalism. We have a newsroom filled with talented young reporters. We also have the country’s most robust editing and fact-checking team, finest news photographers and video professionals. We are building India’s most ambitious and energetic news platform. And have just turned three. At ThePrint, we invest in quality journalists. We pay them fairly. As you may have noticed, we do not flinch from spending whatever it takes to make sure our reporters reach where the story is. This comes with a sizable cost. For us to continue bringing quality journalism, we need readers like you to pay for it. If you think we deserve your support, do join us in this endeavour to strengthen fair, free, courageous and questioning journalism. Please click on the link below. Your support will define ThePrint’s future. Support Our Journalism

Show Full Article