Akbar sues scribe, BJP backs mantri
Party says minister has put out version
The pushback against the #MeToo wave that has swept through the ranks of the powerful with scores of women narrating their alleged experiences of sexual harassment began on Monday with Union minister M.J. Akbar filing a criminal defamation suit against journalist Priya Ramani.
In Mumbai, character actor Alok Nath moved a civil suit against writerdirector Vinta Nanda. As the two men, at the Centre of the growing storm against sexual exploitation in the workplace and outside, approached the courts with defamation suits, their accusers said they would not be cowed by the intimidatory tactics.
Accused by more than a dozen women journalists of sexual harassment and more while he was an editor, Akbar has filed a private criminal defamation complaint against Ramani, who was the first one to name him.
The minister has accused Ramani of “wilfully, deliberately, intentionally and maliciously” defaming him and has sought her prosecution under the penal provision on defamation.
In his first statement on Sunday after returning from Nigeria, Akbar responded to the demands for his resignation by terming the accusations against him “false, fabricated and deeply distressing”.
Several people, including lawyers, rallied around Ramani, offering help in meeting her legal expenses and some appealed on social media for crowd funding. “It is not about agreeing or disagreeing. He has presented his version,” BJP spokesperson G.V.L. Narasimha Rao said.
The pushback against the #MeToo wave that has swept through the ranks of the powerful with scores of women narrating their alleged experiences of sexual harassment began on Monday with Union minister M.J. Akbar filing a criminal defamation suit against journalist Priya Ramani.
The #MeTooIndia handle tweeted that Akbar’s defence team has 97 lawyers against Ramani.
The pressure for his resignation continued to build up. Women's rights activist Vani Subramanian said she is not surprised by Akbar moving court as “such people tend to react in this way when their power is challenged”. “He is not the first man to not accept his mistake and unfortunately he wouldn't be the last man to not admit his mistakes,” she said.
The ripples were inevitably felt after the movement began with Tanushree Dutta levelling allegations of harassment against actor Nana Patekar during a 2008 film shoot.