Dissecting MJ Akbar\'s statement: How minister responded to individual #MeToo sexual harassment allegations


Dissecting MJ Akbar’s statement: How minister responded to individual #MeToo sexual harassment allegations

MJ Akbar

, Twitter

The Union Minister of State MJ Akbar on Sunday looked to counter sexual harassment allegations against him claiming they were ‘false and fabricated, spiced up with innuendo and malice’.

He compared the ‘accusations without evidence’ to viral fever and promised that his lawyers would look into these 'wild and baseless allegations in order to decide the future course of legal action.'

The Rajya Sabha MP from Madhya Pradesh asked if there was an ‘agenda’ and wondered why the storm rose a few months before a general election. He said: “This is the reason why no one went to the authorities for so long, because I had done nothing.  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. Lies do not have legs, but they do contain poison, which can be whipped into a frenzy. This is deeply distressing. As indicated above, I will be taking appropriate legal action.”

He responded to some allegations by name while keeping silent on others. Here's how he responded:

► Priya Ramani

Allegation: Former Mint Lounge editor was the first to call him out stating that her article in Vogue India in October 2017 where she called out a celebrity editor for his inappropriate behaviour. She had written: “You are an expert on obscene phone calls, texts, inappropriate compliments and not taking no for an answer. You know how to pinch, pat, rub, grab and assault. Speaking up against you still carries a heavy price that many young women cannot afford to pay. Sometimes you are inconvenienced when the stories get out and you are asked to take a timeout. Often, you are quickly reinstated. Why would you need to evolve, right?”

Ramani had tweeted: “I began this piece with my MJ Akbar story. Never named him because he didn’t “do” anything. Lots of women have worse stories about this predator—maybe they’ll share.”

Response: In his statement, Akbar reiterated that there was no story. His statement said: “Ms 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 is no story. This was admitted at the very inception. But a sea of innuendo, speculation and abusive diatribe has been built around something that never happened.”

► Prerna Singh Bindra

Allegation: Bindra stated that Akbar was her first editor who called him to his hotel room to ‘discuss’ work and made her life hell when she refused. She tweeted: “It was  MJAkbar I do not say this lightly.. I know the consequences of false accusations & it has been now 17 years   and I have no concrete proof.”

Response: Akbar didn’t respond to her allegations by name.

► Sujata Anandan

Allegation: Anandan claimed Akbar turned up drunk at her friend’s house for coffee and when she refused to go out with him made her life hell. She wrote on Twitter: “OMG! He turned up at my friend's house one night for a coffee. As a single mother with a sleeping child she told him she could neither invite him in nor go out with him. From next day he made life hell for her at their workplace.”

Response: He didn’t respond to her allegation.

► Shuma Raha

Allegation: Shuma Raha wrote that Akbar interviewed her in a hotel after which she declined the job. She wrote: “In this case, #MeToo. Year: 1995, Place Taj Bengal, Kolkata. After that encounter, I declined the job offer. I must clarify, however, that he didn't actually "do" anything. But the whole experience of an interview sitting on a bed in a hotel room followed by an invitation to come over for a drink that evening, was rattling and deeply uncomfortable.”

Response: Akbar’s statement said: “Some are total, unsubstantiated hearsay; others confirm, on the record, that I didn’t do anything. Shuma Raha says, “I must clarify, however, that he didn’t actually ‘do’ anything”.”

► Anju Bharti

Allegation: Anju Bharti stated that her MeToo moment with Akbar ‘took female in pool’. She wrote on Twitter: “Mine was in India Today late night party thrown by Aroon Purie, how he got drunk and took females in pool…”

(This tweet has now been deleted)

Response: MJ Akbar called the allegation ‘absurd’ and wrote: “One woman, Anju Bharti, went to the absurd extent of claiming I was partying in a swimming pool. I do not know how to swim.”

► Shutapa Paul

Allegation: Shutapa Paul who worked at India Today in 2010 wrote a long Twitter thread on how Akbar mistreated her.

Response: Akbar’s statement stated: “Some are total, unsubstantiated hearsay; others confirm, on the record, that I didn’t do anything. Let me note examples. Shutapa Paul states, “The man never laid a hand on me.””

► Ghazala Wahab

Allegation: Ghazala Wahab, who worked at The Asian Age as an intern in 1994 wrote a first-hand account of being harassed by Akbar as an intern in his cabin.

Response: Akbar claimed that they had a tiny cubicle and it was ‘bizarre to believe’ anything could have happened in that tiny space’.

His statement  added: “Another accusation was made repeatedly by Ms Ghazala Wahab, in an effort to damage my reputation. She claimed that she had been molested in office, 21 years ago. This  is 16 years before I entered public life, and when I was in media.

The only office where I worked with her was that of The Asian Age. A part of the editorial team then worked out of a small hall.  At the time concerned, I had a very tiny cubicle, patched together by plywood and glass. Others had tables and chairs two feet away. It is utterly bizarre to believe that anything could have happened in that tiny space, and, moreover, that no one else in the vicinity would come to know, in the midst of a working day. These allegations are false, motivated and baseless. 

Ms Wahab states that she complained to Ms Veenu Sandal, who wrote features for the paper. Ms Sandal has described Ms Wahab’s version as nonsense, in an interview to the Indian Express. Ms Sandal has also said that she has never heard, in 20 years, anybody accusing me of any such thing.

It is pertinent to remember that both Ms Ramani and Ms Wahab kept working with me even after these alleged incidents; this clearly establishes that they had no apprehension and discomfort.  The reason why they remained silent for decades is very apparent: as Ms Ramani has herself stated, I never did anything.  This is the reason why no one went to the authorities for so long, because I had done nothing.”

► Kadambari M Wade

Allegation: Wade worked with Akbar in 1998 and stated that he would make her uncomfortable by staring at her and she eventually called him out. She wrote: “I’d had enough. I’d told my dad. He was prepared to come and confront MJ Akbar. I said I’d fight my own battles. So I said, “Sir, I’d much prefer if you’d look at my face instead of my chest when you’re talking to me.” He looked up.”

Response: Akbar didn’t respond to this allegation

► Majilie de Puy Kamp

An intern with Asian Age in 2007 said that Akbar ‘shoved his tongue down her throat’ when she was 18. She wrote on Twitter: “I extended my hand to him in gratitude, he shoved his 55-yr-old tongue down my 18-yr-old throat.”

Response: Akbar didn’t respond to the allegation.