A #MeToo Case Against New Punjab CM Channi; What’s It About?

Chandigarh: There’s a #MeToo case hanging against new Punjab chief minister Charanjit Singh Channi.

No sooner had Congress declared the name of Captain Amarinder Singh’s successor after much drama than the BJP pounced on the three-year-old case against Channi.

“Congress’s CM pick Charanjit Channi faces action in a 3-year-old #MeToo case. He had allegedly sent an inappropriate text to a woman IAS officer in 2018. It was covered up but the case resurfaced when Punjab Women’s Commission sent notice. Well done, Rahul,” tweeted BJP spokesperson Amit Malviya.

Channi had allegedly sent an inappropriate text message to a female IAS officer in 2018. The IAS officer hadn’t filed a complaint and then-CM Amarinder Singh had said the issue was “resolved’.

But the case resurfaced four months ago when the Punjab Women’s Commission (PWC) sent a notice to the state government asking for its response to the allegation.

PWC chief Manisha Gulati, said she wanted to ensure justice for the lady officer, who subsequently was transferred Punjab.

“The victim has now got herself transferred outside Punjab. IAS officers are pressuring me to take action. So I have sent notice to the Punjab government. When the State Chief Secretary is a woman, a national party president is a woman then how come a woman IAS officer can’t get justice?” Gulati had said.

However, nothing happened thereafter.