Days after sexism complaint against national head, Assam Youth Congress chief expelled: What’s going on?

Congress has expelled its Assam Pradesh Youth Congress president Angkita Dutta, days after she accused party leader Srinivas BV of “sexism” and “harassment”. In a statement on Twitter released Saturday (22 April), the All India Congress Committee (AICC) said Angkita is being suspended from the party for six years for “anti-party activities”. “Hon’ble Congress President has expelled Dr Angkita Dutta, President Congress Assam Pradesh Youth Congress, from the primary membership of the party, for six years, for her anti-party activities, with immediate effect,” the statement read.

Hon'ble Congress President has expelled Dr. Angkita Dutta, President Assam Pradesh Youth Congress, from the primary membership of the party, for six years, for her anti-party activities, with immediate effect. pic.twitter.com/jEofAiRlja

— INC Sandesh (@INCSandesh) April 22, 2023

This comes days after Assam Pradesh Congress Committee issued a show cause notice to her after she went public with her allegations against Srinivas. Who is Angkita Dutta, what are her charges and what has happened so far? We explain. Who is Angkita Dutta? Angkita Dutta has studied political science and has a degree in LLB from Delhi University, reported Hindustan Times (HT). She also has a PhD from Guwahati University.

Her family has been associated with the Congress for generations.

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She was appointed as the chief of Assam Pradesh Youth Congress in November 2021. Her father was former Assam minister Anjan Dutta, who was also a three-time Congress MLA. At the time of his death in 2016, he was serving as Assam Pradesh Congress Committee president, reported Indian Express. Angkita’s grandfather, Thaneswar Dutta, had backed Indira Gandhi during the 1978 Congress split, as per the HT report. Angkita was fielded by Congress twice from the Amguri constituency in the 2016 and 2021 Assam Assembly elections. She lost both times. She was also seen with Rahul Gandhi during Congress’ Bharat Jodo Yatra. [caption id=“attachment_12491322” align=“alignnone” width=“640”] Angkita Dutta was seen with Rahul Gandhi during the Bharat Jodo Yatra. Image Courtesy: Facebook/Angkita Dutta[/caption] Allegations against Srinivas BV In a series of tweets earlier in the week, the now-former Assam Congress leader alleged that Indian Youth Congress (IYC) president Srinivas has been “continually” harassing her and discriminating against her “on the basis of gender” for the past six months. Calling him “sexist” and “chauvinistic”, she tweeted on Tuesday: “I am a woman leader. If I undergo such harassment, how am I supposed to encourage other women to join.” Angkita also said she apprised Rahul Gandhi of the matter months ago, but still no action was initiated. “Is this the safe space Rahul Gandhi talks about?” she asked.

@IYC President @srinivasiyc has continually harnessed me and was discriminating on the basis of my gender. My values and education doesn’t allow me anymore. The leadership has played deaf ears despite bring front of them MANY TIMES @RahulGandhi @kcvenugopalmp @priyankagandhi

— Dr Angkita Dutta (@angkitadutta) April 18, 2023

“Despite my complaints, no inquiry has been initiated against Srinivas… I have kept quiet for months waiting for them to take action against him yet no one seems interested. Srinivas in the guise of his PR is getting away with all kinds of wrongdoings,” she wrote in a tweet.

I had a lot of faith in @RahulGandhi and went to Jammu during @bharatjodo to appraise him of @srinivasiyc harassment and demeaning use of language towards me. It’s April now and still no equity against him.

— Dr Angkita Dutta (@angkitadutta) April 18, 2023

In an interview with Indian Express, Angkita said her “grievances began when IYC Secretary Vardhan Yadav was appointed as Assam in-charge”. She said after Yadav took over the post, he started “misbehaving” with her, addressing her as ‘ae ladki’ (you, girl). The ex-Assam Youth Congress chief said that she questioned Yadav’s arrival in “one of our groups” and also reached out to the AICC. She claimed that she approached Srinivas during the Congress’s plenary session in Chhattisgarh’s Raipur in February. “He pulled me aside and asked me why I was putting up these messages on the groups. ‘Kya daaru peeta hai, vodka peeta hai, ya tequila peeta hai (Do you drink alcohol, vodka, tequila?),’ are the words he said to me. I walked away and reported it to the IYC and AICC leadership,” she was quoted as saying by Indian Express. Soon after her accusations came to light, Srinivas issued a legal notice to her, threatening legal action if she did not issue a public apology. As per The Quint, the notice, sent by IYC’s legal team on Srinivas’ behalf, said that Angkita has “resorted to using utterly unparliamentary, undignified, defamatory, malicious words” against Srinivas, and has levelled “false and frivolous allegations.” The notice also stated that her “name has come up in the Sharda Chit Fund Scam” and she has been meeting Assam chief minister Himanta Biswa Sarma – a veiled accusation of her colluding with the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). ALSO READ: '_Pratadit Mahila Adhyaksh_': Angkita Dutta changes Twitter bio Angkita Dutta files police complaint On Wednesday (19 April), Angkita filed a complaint against Srinivas at Assam’s Dispur police station. She accused the IYC chief of being “sexist, chauvinistic, and outraging a woman’s modesty,” according to a HT report. She also alleged he physically harassed her and used “abusive words” during the Congress’s plenary session in Chhattisgarh. “He heckled me holding my arm, pushing and pulling and threatening me using slang words, saying he will ruin my career in the Congress if I complained against him to the high office bearers of the party,” Angkita said in her complaint, as per HT. Reactions to the allegations Srinivas has called the allegations “completely false” and “politically motivated”, reported The Quint. A close aide of the IYC president also claimed that Angkita has been constantly in touch with the Assam chief minister. “The ED (Enforcement Directorate) has also confiscated some properties of Angkita. So, she is also trying to get her name removed by joining hands with the BJP, like Sarma,” the close aide of Srinivas told The Quint. Angkita has rebuffed these claims of her siding with the BJP, describing them as “disappointing”. “I am a fourth generation Congressperson. I have CBI and ED cases against me, defamation cases from the BJP. I have not said a word against the party, just against this individual [Srinivas]. I have been speaking against this within the party, what have they been doing about that?” she told Indian Express. Speaking to Indian Express, Debadrata Saikia, the Leader of Opposition in the Assam Assembly, said earlier on the show cause notice: “The Pradesh Congress Committee has asked Angkita Dutta to explain her conduct… She has stated that the incidents began six months back. Unfortunately, she had not informed the PCC chief till two days back. Also, she has said that the matter was raised before the party high command. I doubt if she has raised the issue with national president Mallikarjun Kharge ji or our general secretary in-charge Jitendra Singh ji. Jitendra Singh ji came to Assam in the last three to four months many times and he never mentioned this.” Meanwhile, Sarma has also responded to the allegations against Srinivas, saying that if the Congress does not handle the issue, then the police will take action. “Angkita Dutta is the daughter of Assam. The way Assam Pradesh Congress Committee has tackled this matter is sad. They (Assam Congress) are thinking that she has given a wrong statement and the IYC president is right. I would have been happy if the Assam Congress talked in favour of her. But what we see is the complete opposite,” Sarma was quoted as saying by ANI. Taking suo motu cognisance of Angkita’s tweets, the National Commission for Women (NCW) said it is “appalled and disappointed.” The commission also directed the Assam Police to launch an inquiry into the harassment allegations levelled against Srinivas. With inputs from agencies Read all the  Latest News ,  Trending News ,  Cricket News ,  Bollywood News , India News  and  Entertainment News  here. Follow us on  Facebook,  Twitter and  Instagram.