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Bhubaneswar: Orissa Speaker Maheswar Mohanty yesterday resigned after a woman employee of the state's legislative assembly accused him of sexual harassment, even as the chief minister sacked a minister for allegedly conspiring against the speaker.
Mohanty resigned as the demand for his ouster was growing, particularly after the police registered a case against him on the basis of the complaint of the only woman marshal of the assembly, Gayatri Panda.
Panda, 29, who was recently suspended on charges of negligence of duty, had alleged in her complaint that Mohanty harassed her after she refused to provide sexual favours.
"I have been working in the assembly since 2001 but I have never faced such humiliation. Mohanty wanted sexual favours from me. When I did not show interest, he started taking vindictive action against me," Panda had said.
Speaker Mohanty said he was resigning to uphold the dignity of the house and to enable the government to conduct a smooth inquiry into the charges against him.
"I have resigned because I want a smooth inquiry," Mohanty said.
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