Amit Shah, the Home Minister of India, will lead the panel constituted to prevent workplace sexual harassment.
The announcement of Shah leading the panel was made on the 24th of July. Shelat Harit Ketan, the Spokesperson of the Home Ministry of India, announced the news and said, “The group of ministers was set up on July 18 since the previous panel lapsed ahead of the formation of the new government.”
On the 18th of July, the Government of India (GoI) constituted a panel of 4 members, consisting of Women and Child Development Minister of India Smriti Irani, Finance Minister of India Nirmala Sitharaman, Minister of Human Resource Development Ramesh Pokhriyal and Home Minister of India Amit Shah.
The decision to constitute a panel to tackle sexual harassment at workplace came after the recent #MeTooMovement in India.
The movement brought to light the sexual harassment and abuse stories of women at their workplace. Even high profile men such as M.J. Akbar, the former junior Foreign Minister, Ranjan Gogoi, the Chief Justice of India and Chetan Bhagat, a prominent Indian author, were accused of sexual harassment.
In 2018, before the Lok Sabha elections, the GoI constituted a panel without any public recommendations. The previous panel included Rajnath Singh, the current Defence Minister of India, Sushma Swaraj, the then External Affairs Minister of India and Maneka Gandhi, the then Women and Child Development Minister of India.
However, after forming the new Government, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) reconstituted the panel and replaced the Cabinet Ministers.
The step of the BJP Government to prevent sexual harassment is being criticised by the opposition parties.
Sushmita Dev, a lawmaker of the Indian National Congress (INC,) said, “It is a foregone conclusion that nothing was done in the past. That is why the proceedings were hidden.” She further added, “The new committee should hold consultations with all stakeholders and thoroughly examine existing legislation.”
The newly formed panel will make recommendations within three months.
Stay tuned for further updates.
