Will quit Parliament if proven guilty, Congress MP Bimol Akoijam on JNU sex harassment row

Congress MP Bimol Akoijam, who was dismissed from Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) following multiple sexual harassment complaints, has denied the allegations against him, calling the university's internal enquiry a "khap panchayat". The professor challenged his accusers to prove the charges and said he would resign from Parliament if the allegations against him were proved.

In an interview with India Today TV, Akoijam described the controversy as an "obscene spectacle" and rejected the allegations and accused the media of circulating what he called false and misleading claims.

"And after serving this country for three decades, shaping students from Kanyakumari to Kashmir, is this lies and treatment is meted out to me, I will not blink an eye, leave the Indian Parliament, come here and back home in my home state and work and die," the MP from Manipur said.

Further defending himself, the MP said, "There has been an obscene spectacle that has been going on in the rest of the country in the name of these charges".

The JNU dismissed Akoijam, a professor at the Centre for the Study of Social Systems under JNU's School of Social Sciences, last week after an enquiry into the sexual harassment allegations against him found him guilty. An FIR has also been filed against the professor.

At least 11 female students had filed sexual harassment complaints against the professor in May 2026, alleging that Akoijam invited students to his campus residence under the pretext of meetings or gatherings and attempted to exploit them sexually. Some students had also alleged that he used to make obscene and inappropriate remarks in class.

Speaking to India Today TV, he said there were 15 complaints, including three from boys, and claimed that all of them were fabricated.

Akoijam alleged that the university's Internal Complaints Committee (ICC) had failed to conduct a fair enquiry and described the proceedings as a "khap panchayat". The MP also claimed that discrepancies in the number of complaints reported by the media pointed to factual inaccuracies in the public discussion surrounding the case.

"A lot of lies and outlandish lies have been preached, and very serious, uh, statutory, uh, institutional, institutions like ICC has been converted into a khap panchayat, and one of the classic examples is that you are still saying that 11 complainants," he further claimed.

Asked whether he believed the entire committee had decided in advance that he should be removed, he replied, "Yes. Yes, exactly, that's what".

Akoijam challenged the allegations of sexual misconduct, including claims that he had sought sexual favours in exchange for marks. He also said that no such remarks could be found in the proceedings of the Internal Complaints Committee.

"All the things that they are saying, sex for mark, show me a paper in the entire IC proceeding, is that accusation there or not? If you've proven me right, I will say that you shoot me," the MP said.

He also alleged that the proceedings had been compromised and questioned whether the confidentiality requirements under the POSH Act had been followed.

"According to POSH law, Section 16, confidentiality is supposed to be kept. Did that happen? No," he said.

The MP also alleged that information about the enquiry had reached the media before he received the findings and before the prescribed process had been completed. Akoijam also asserted that the real enquiry should be into why these allegations are being raised against him.

The controversy has also led to a police case, with the interviewer asking Aichojam whether he would cooperate with an independent examination of the statements and evidence.