Channi should be removed as Punjab CM: NCW on 'Me Too' allegations

New Delhi: The National Commission for Women (NCW) Chief Rekha Sharma on Monday requested Congress interim president Sonia Gandhi to remove Punjab's new Chief Minister Charanjit Singh Channi from his post "until he comes clean" as he is an accused in the Me Too movement.

Sharma claimed that Channi sent inappropriate text messages to a female IAS officer in 2018, and was accused of the Me Too allegation in 2018.

Expressing her disappointment, Sharma in an interview with ANI requested Sonia Gandhi to remove Charanjit Singh Channi from his post of Punjab CM until he came clean.

Calling Channi a threat to women, Sharma said, "Today, he has been made Punjab CM by a party that is headed by a woman. It is betrayal. He is a threat to women safety. An enquiry should be conducted against him. If he doesn't come clean, he is not worthy to be CM. I urge Sonia Gandhi to remove him from the CM post."

Further, she added, "Allegations were levelled against him (Punjab CM Charanjit Singh Channi) during Me Too movement in 2018. The State Women Commission had taken a suo moto cognizance of the matter and the chairperson sat on a dharna demanding his removal but nothing happened."

Rekha Sharma wrote an open letter today stating: "One can only imagine what would be the state of women safety in the state given the one at the helm of affairs is himself accused of threatening women /security. If an IAS officer has been denied justice in the state, how can the Congress party ensure that the common women of Punjab would be safe?"

"Despite being a woman herself, the Congress chief did not consider the Me Too allegations made against Channi and appointed him the CM. The Punjab State Commission for Women too had taken cognisance of the incident yet the state government did not take any action against him. This is shameful and highly objectionable that such a person has been appointed as the CM of Punjab. We do not want another woman to go through the same experience and endure the same harassment that the IAS officer would have faced. Mr Channi needs to be held accountable and should resign from the post of CM," it further read.

Charanjit Singh Channi was sworn in as Chief Minister of Punjab today. Governor Banwarilal Purihot also administered the oath of office to Congress leaders Sukhjinder S Randhawa and OP Soni as ministers in the state cabinet.

The Me Too movement is a social movement against sexual harassment where people publicise allegations of sex crimes.