Akbar calls charges wild and baseless

NEW DELHI: Giving no indication of resigning from the government, Union Minister M J Akbar, who is facing charges of harassment and wrongdoing by around a dozen women journalists, on Sunday called the allegations “false, wild and baseless” and vowed to take legal action against the accusers.

“Accusation without evidence has become a viral fever among some sections. Whatever be the case, now that I have returned (from abroad), my lawyers will look into these wild and baseless allegations in order to decide our future course of legal action,” he said.

Akbar, who was abroad on an official trip in Nigeria when allegations were made by women journalists who had worked with him in newspapers over 15 years ago as part of the #Metoo campaign, asked whether there was an agenda in the allegations as they came ahead of general elections.

While Akbar issued a statement, there was no word from the government or the ruling BJP as to whether he would continue in the government amidst opposition demands for his resignation.

“Why has this storm risen a few months before a general election? Is there an agenda? You be the judge. These false, baseless and wild allegations have caused irreparable damage to my reputation and goodwill,” he said.

“Lies do not have legs, but they do contain poison, which can be whipped into a frenzy. This is deeply distressing. I will be taking appropriate legal action,” said the 67-year-old former Editor of Asian Age.

Referring to charges by former colleague Priya Ramani, who had written an article a year ago and now named him following the #Metoo campaign, Akbar said: “Priya Ramani began this campaign a year ago with a magazine article. She did not, however, name me as she knew it was an incorrect story. When asked recently why she had not named me, she replied, in a Tweet: “Never named him because he didn’t ‘do’ anything.

“If I didn’t do anything, where and what is the story? There’s no story. But a sea of innuendo, speculation and abusive diatribe has been built around something that never happened.

Why has this storm risen a few months before a general election? Is there an agenda? M J AKBAR Union Minister