The Congress on Monday said that it will probe the allegations of sexual harassment against Fairoz Khan, the president of its student wing NSUI, levelled by a woman working with its Chhattisgarh team.
NSUI joint secretary Ruchi Gupta told DNA that the party is taking suo motu cognisance of the charges. “Given the seriousness of the charge, we have set up a Committee comprising of All India Mahila Congress president Sushmita Dev, Lok Sabha MP Deepender Hooda and Ragini Nayak to investigate the complaint. The Committee is already in touch with the complainant,” said Gupta.
The woman, who is an office bearer and former probationary national office bearer from Chhattisgarh had alleged that the NSUI president Fairoz Khan has been sexually harassing young women in lieu of political appointments. The allegations came to light late Sunday night after purported WhatsApp conversations between another woman and Fairoz, were released to the media.
“The National President has not only mentally tortured me to compromise but he has also mentally tortured my younger sister to come to his room. He has also asked my friend to meet him at his private residence at night. There are many other young female activists who also faced the same but they have refrained from coming out publicly so that no other girl is molested or mentally tortured,” the complainant wrote.
“NSUI National Incharge Ruchi Gupta has been running campaigns to make ICC (internal complaints committee) but there is no ICC in NSUI so where I could discuss this harassment in party forums. I also requested her to take this up seriously because you cannot preach what you don't practice. I hope this sets a precedent for such people who think they can misuse their position and molest female leaders and bring a bad name to the party! I tried contacting all the authorities inside the party but no one has given a positive response,” the letter read.
Gupta further said that while the party has not yet received any official complaint on this issue, the complainant was not made a national office bearer in the NSUI because she never went to her in-charge state.
“There was a full discussion in an NSUI national executive in Rajasthan on constituting an ICC, however, there was a consensus that since such a committee would necessarily be composed of national office bearers who would adjudicate complaints against other national office bearers, it will not be or not seen to be impartial. Hence complaints of this nature should come directly to the NSUI in-charge who will set up an appropriate committee to review such complaint,” Gupta said.
