Me Too: M.J. Akbar won’t resign, Public opinion against him

October 15: Minister of state for external affairs MJ Akbar on Sunday refused to resign on the basis of an allegation of sexual harassment made against him as a part of the ongoing ‘Me Too’ campaign. He called the allegations of sexual misconduct against him “false and fabricated” and threatened to take appropriate legal action. The women who accused Akbar of sexual harassment included Priya Ramani, Ghazala Wahab, Shuma Raha, Anju Bharti and Shutapa Paul.

Hours after Union minister M J Akbar rejected allegations of sexual misconduct and harassment and suggested they may have been guided by political motives, five of the women journalists who accused him said they stood by their statements. Two of them said they were disappointed by Akbar’s reaction, but they were not surprised. The women who have spoken out are journalists and interns who were interviewed for jobs by Akbar or had worked with him. By speaking out, they made public for the first time allegations that had been whispered in media networks for over two decades.

Those who made these allegations against M.J. Akbar are Suparna Sharma, Resident Editor, The Asian Age. She said “I stand by my testimony of the two incidents — one in which he plucked my bra strap, and the other when he stared at my breasts. I also stand by the fact that he did the same with other women in the office.” New York-based journalist Majlie de Puy Kamp (30) accused Akbar of forcibly kissing her when she was interning at The Asian Age in 2007. Priya Ramani, who on October 8 outed Akbar as the unnamed editor she had mentioned in a piece she had written in October 2017 in Vogue India said “We are speaking up at great cost to our personal and professional lives.” Freelance journalist Kanika Gahlaut, who worked with Akbar from 1995 to 1997, too said, “I stand by whatever I said. Shutapa Paul, who had tweeted about her experience with Akbar on October 10 said “Our fight is the fight for every woman; a fight for justice, a fight against feeling violated in the workplace and in daily life.”

Opposition parties like the Congress, the CPI(M) and the All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen demanded Akbar’s removal as minister. The Bharatiya Janata Party has maintained a studied silence on the matter so far. Textiles Minister Smriti Irani urged people not to mock women speaking out against the harassment meted out to them. Women and Child Development Minister Maneka Gandhi has said her ministry plans to set up a panel of legal experts to look into the allegations of sexual harassment that have surfaced in the  MeToo campaign, asserting that she believes in the “pain and trauma” of every complainant.’

It is now wait and watch to see what stand  Narendra Modi adopt to maintain ‘Swachhata’ not only in the physical environment but ‘Swachhata’ also in the social environment.