WCD ministry unsatisfied with response of political parties on ICC

A month after Union Women and Child Development Minister Maneka Gandhi asked all political parties to form an Internal Complain Committee (ICC), only the CPI-M has confirmed that it has done so.

According to the Ministry, all major national political parties including the Bhartiya Janata Party and Congress have failed to provide an update on the formation of ICC under the Sexual Harassment at Workplace Act.

"Neither state nor national parties apart from the CPI-M have reverted to us on ICC. We have not yet decided the next step," an official said.

Currently, there are seven national, 59 state and more than 2,000 registered unrecognized political parties in India, according to the Election Commission.

The CPI-M told the Ministry that an ICC was formed after the Party Congress every three years.

Last month, following the MeToo movement, Gandhi urged all political parties to set up an internal committee to investigate sexual harassment charges.