The minister of state for external affairs has been accused of sexual harassment by at least four women. He was first called out by journalist Priya Ramani, who had last year written about his alleged inappropriate behaviour for a magazine without taking his name. She has now confirmed in a tweet that the allegation was against Akbar.
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.
— Shuma Raha (@ShumaRaha) October 8, 2018
https://twitter.com/priyaramani/status/1049279608263245824?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1049279608263245824&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.news18.com%2Fnews%2Findia%2Funion-minister-mj-akbar-accused-of-sexual-harassment-in-metoo-sushma-swaraj-ducks-questions-1903535.html
He was this brilliant,flamboyant #editor who dabbled in politics, who called me-my 1st job- to his hotel room to 'discuss work', after i put the edition to bed-read midnight, & made life at work hell when i refused.,cudnt speak up due to various compulsions, but yes #MeTooIndia
— prerna singh bindra (@prernabindra) October 6, 2018
@It was #MJAkbar I do not say this lightly..i know the consequences of false accusations &it has been now 17 yrs &i have no concrete proof. but i was young, just made features editor, super impressed with our brilliant editor, sensitive writer(read Riot after Riot), 1/4
— prerna singh bindra (@prernabindra) October 9, 2018
he made lewd comments, once when we we had a meeting with the entire features https://t.co/Na1HhVu4J3 of the girls told me later he had asked them to meet him in the hotel too. I was alone in the city, vulnerable, fighting battles on personal fronts. i kept quiet. 3/5
— prerna singh bindra (@prernabindra) October 9, 2018
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 https://t.co/3XRj7oWK94
— Sujata Anandan (@sujataanandan) October 8, 2018
Despite a number of journalists coming out in open and revealing that they had faced harassment by MJ Akbar in the past, sources in Ministry of External Affairs informed Republic TV on Tuesday that the matter is a ‘personal’ one for the Minister of State for External Affairs, and that the ministry will not conduct an internal inquiry on the allegations for the time being.
The accusations pertain to the time when MJ Akbar was working as a journalist. Sources from within the MEA has stated that the incident is of a time much before he was associated with the government, hence, they will not comment on this issue.
