BJP to protest against Congress’s ‘political patronage’ of dismissed JNU academic

Karyakartas of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) Manipur stage a rally demanding the resignation of Congress MP Angomcha Bimol Akoijam from the Lok Sabha on moral grounds following his dismissal from Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) in connection with sexual harassment complaints on October 10, 2026 | Photo Credit: ANI Amid the ongoing protests against Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar and the security clampdown in the national capital, the Bharatiya Janata Party’s (BJP) Mahila Morcha has announced a protest march on Monday (October 12, 2026) against the Congress over what it called the “political patronage” extended by the Opposition party to Congress MP and former Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) professor Angomcha Bimol Akoijam, who was dismissed from service on October 8 on charges of sexually exploiting female students.On Sunday (October 11, 2026), the party said its Nari Shakti Hunkar Andolan (women power roar movement) would be organised from the Andhra Education Society School on Deen Dayal Upadhyaya Marg to the Congress headquarters at Indira Bhawan, followed by a demonstration.At a press conference, BJP MP Bansuri Swaraj questioned the “silence” of the Congress party and the Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha, Rahul Gandhi, accusing them of double standards while speaking about “smashing patriarchy”. Ms. Swaraj demanded Mr. Akoijam be suspended by the Congress.“Are ‘Smash the Patriarchy’ events meant for only political posturing by Rahul Gandhi? Does the Congress party’s feminism start with a hashtag, but stop short of fixing accountability?” Ms. Swaraj said.Stating that the charges against the former JNU faculty member had surfaced in May, she asked why the Congress leadership had not instituted an internal inquiry or served a show-cause notice on Mr. Akoijam, and why no disciplinary action had been taken against him. Published - October 11, 2026 06:45 pm IST