India Minister Denies ‘Wild’ Sexual Harassment Allegations
Will take appropriate legal action against the allegations, Akbar says in a Twitter post.
(Bloomberg) -- India’s junior foreign minister M.J. Akbar has denied sexual harassment allegations made against him by women journalists as the #MeToo movement spreads across the South Asian nation.
M.J. Akbar, a former journalist and author, is the first politician to be named in the flood of accusations of inappropriate behavior by prominent men in India that began with Bollywood and moved into the media industry. Multiple women alleged Akbar acted inappropriately decades ago during his time as an editor of several Indian publications.
“These false, baseless and wild allegations have caused irreparable damage to my reputation and goodwill,” Akbar said in a Twitter statement on Sunday. The statement further said Akbar would take “appropriate legal action," without giving details.
Calls to Akbar’s office and residence went unanswered, as did emails to his personal and work accounts. Raveesh Kumar, a spokesman for the external affairs ministry, declined to comment because the statement was issued by Akbar in his personal capacity.
Roughly a dozen women, including a Bloomberg journalist based in London, have alleged that Akbar sexually harassed them or engaged in other inappropriate behavior. The allegations range from Akbar forcibly kissing young interns and interviewing women in his hotel rooms, to offering to set young female employees up with a job and an apartment where he could visit them. Others say he stared at their breasts and touched them without their consent.
Committee Formed
Akbar was under pressure to step down after his return from an official tour to Africa on Sunday morning. The allegations may hurt the government’s reputation as Prime Minister Narendra Modi tries to win the support of women before elections next year.
Opposition leaders as well as ministers from the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party have expressed solidarity with women who shared their stories of sexual harassment. The government on Friday said it would establish a committee of senior judges to examine the flood of sexual harassment complaints.
In his statement, Akbar said the timing of these allegations could be related to India’s upcoming national election in 2019. "Why has this storm risen a few months before a general election? Is there an agenda? You be the judge," he wrote.
Since Akbar released his statement, five of the journalists who made the allegations have said they stood by their comments, according to a report in the Indian Express.
To contact the reporters on this story: Iain Marlow in New Delhi at imarlow1@bloomberg.net;Vrishti Beniwal in New Delhi at vbeniwal1@bloomberg.net
To contact the editors responsible for this story: Ruth Pollard at rpollard2@bloomberg.net, Jodi Schneider
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