Maneka Gandhi supports Tanushree Dutta, says it does not matter when the victim comes out

Amid a furore over actress Tanushree Dutta accusing Nana Patekar of sexual misconduct, women and child development minister Maneka Gandhi on Tuesday favoured a #MeTooIndia movement to encourage women to come forward to complain. After Hollywood’s #MeToo movement, which has seen several women speaking about sexual harassment faced by them, many people are referring to Dutta’s statement on Patekar as the beginning of a similar campaign in Bollywood. Dutta has accused Patekar of inappropriate behaviour on the sets of a film called Horn Ok Pleassss in 2008.

When asked about accusations made by Dutta, the minister said harassment of any kind will not be tolerated. “We should start something like #MeTooIndia in which any woman who is being harassed at any point of time should write to us and we should investigate,” Gandhi told TV channels.

Responding to the questions that people are asking Dutta why she took so long to reveal the matter, Gandhi said people asked the same question at the time when the first victim spoke against Hollywood director Harvey Weinstein but it does not matter when the victim comes out.

“But I know when your body is abused, you remember it always. If there has been any kind of sexual harassment, it is possible to report it through SHe-box and we will take action,” she added. Bollywood stars like Farhan Akhtar, Priyanka Chopra, Twinkle Khanna, Swara Bhasker and Richa Chadha have rallied around the actress. However, Patekar has denied the claims.

(This story has been published from a wire agency feed without modifications to the text. Only the headline has been changed.)

Follow @htshowbiz for more

First Published: Oct 03, 2018 10:18 IST