Youth Congress issues legal notice to Angkita Dutta challenging her allegation of sexual harassment against Srinavas BV

The national president of the Congress Youth Wing, Srinivas BV, has sent a defamation notice to the Assam Youth Congress chairman Dr Angkita Dutta.

The IYC accused Dutta of using "utterly unparliamentary, undignified, defamatory, malicious words" against Srinivas BV in a press release published by IYC national media in-charge Varun Pandey.

Srinivas filed a defamation suit against her after the event. On Twitter, he reshared Angkita's previous post wishing him a happy birthday and posted photos of the legal notice with the caption, "Whoever is found propagating/peddling false & defamatory content will be held liable under the relevant laws & will be held accountable for their acts."

According to the statement, the entire process of "publicly maligning and defaming" Srinivas BV is politically driven and completely untrue and unjustified.

Also Watch: Angkita Dutta claims IYC president Srinivas BV asked her: "What do you drink Vodka or Tequila?"

“Dr Dutta has resorted to using utterly unparliamentary, undignified, defamatory, malicious words against Srinivas BV and has levelled totally sexist, chauvinistic, false, frivolous allegations against him. The IYC legal cell has taken a strong, stringent legal action and therefore IYC National President Srinivas BV has sent a Criminal Defamation notice to Dr Angkita Dutta in view of the same,” the release stated.

IYC Legal Cell National Chairman Roopesh Singh Bhadauria stated that Dutta was appointed as Vice-President of Assam PYC in June 2018 when Kamrul Islam Chaudhary was PYC President.

Later on, in accordance with the resolution passed by IYC for 33 per cent reservations for women in the organisation, she was nominated as PYC Assam President in November 2021 and remained in the post till membership of IYC was announced in Assam to induct new leaders in the state organization, the release stated.

The release added, “Since her tenure was over, and after the declaration of State PYC election she was not discharging her duties competently, she started raising baseless allegations against National Secretary Vardhan Yadav, IYC I/C of Assam PYC which were never fructified and she has constantly refrained herself from participating and cooperating with the inquiry committee set up by the IYC Leadership to probe the allegations made out by her. Such acts clearly reflect the falsity of the charges”.

Levelling the accusations further, Bhadauria stated, “It is also a matter of public knowledge that Dr Dutta’s name has come up in Sharda Chit Scam Fund and ED / PMLA cases. It is also reliably learnt that Dr Dutta is in constant touch with the Assam CM Himanta Biswa Sarma and has been undertaking this exercise of maligning and defaming simply to create an atmosphere of leaving the Congress party with an objective to join the BJP, the ruling dispensation at the State and the Centre and consequently to have a closure of these cases”.

Meanwhile, Dr Angkita Dutta had previously accused Srinivas BV of harassing her for the past six months, discriminating against her because she was "a woman," and using vulgar words to smear her reputation.

Former president of the Assam Youth Congress Angkita Dutta, who has taken the Congress party by storm by levelling a series of allegations against its IYC president Srinivas BV, said that the latter has been harassing her for the past six months.
 

Speaking to India Today NE, Congress leader Angkita Dutta said, "For the past six months Srinivas BV has been mentally harassing me and humiliating me."

Further, the Congress leader claimed that the issue began only after the Congress Youth Wing's national president Srinivas BV decided to announce the youth congress election in Assam.
 
Angkita Dutta asserted that she was elected the first vice-president and it was not more than a year before she took charge of her duties, however, following the exit of the then president to BJP she was appointed the full-time president.

"In my appointment order it was nowhere mentioned that I was the acting president," she added.

Speaking about the charges of harassment towards Srinivas BV, Angkita said that Srinivas engaged a person name Vardhan Yadav who is the IYC secretary in Assam and thru him, Srinivas BV has been allegedly harassing her.

Lashing out at Vardhan Yadav, Angkita Dutta alleged that the former has a history of corruption charges against him and was allegedly involved in Delhi University's Ramjas College admission case for which he was lodged in Tihar jail.

Meanwhile, on Ankita Dutta, Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma said that it is an internal matter of the Congress and will not comment on it. 

"Ankita Dutta has accused the top leadership of the Congress that the Congress leadership will definitely take care of the honour of the Assamese daughter. I will see only when Ankita Dutt informs me," added Himanta Biswa Sarma.