Manipur BJP chief Sharda Devi accuses Bimol Akoijam’s supporters of mistreating women

Manipur Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) president and Rajya Sabha MP A. Sharda Devi on October 13 accused supporters of Lok Sabha MP Angomcha Bimol Akoijam of mistreating women, as a delegation of BJP women leaders met President Droupadi Murmu in Delhi.

Speaking about the controversy surrounding Akoijam, Sharda Devi criticised the alleged sexual harassment of students at a university and questioned the silence of those who were aware of the matter.

“A university, an institution meant to impart moral education, has a professor engaging in such vile conduct. It is shameful,” she said, alleging that students had faced sexual harassment while others remained silent.

Sharda Devi also alleged that people supporting Akoijam had continued to mistreat women amid the ongoing agitation in Manipur.

“We have filed numerous FIRs there, FIRs with the police and complaints with the Cyber Crime cell,” she said, claiming that several women had been subjected to mistreatment.

Expressing anguish over the controversy, the BJP leader said she felt ashamed to identify herself as being from Manipur after the incident.

The remarks come amid a political controversy surrounding Akoijam and his dismissal as a professor at Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU). The Global Manipur Federation has expressed solidarity with the MP and raised concerns over alleged procedural irregularities in the dismissal, while the Jawaharlal Nehru University Teachers’ Association has also questioned whether due process was followed.

The allegations made by Sharda Devi against Akoijam’s supporters could not be independently verified from the information available in the statement.