Union Minister of State for External Affairs MJ Akbar on Sunday said he will consider legal action against the women who have accused him of sexual harassment. Akbar, who returned from an official tour in Africa earlier on Sunday, issued a press statement in which he called the allegations of misconduct false, fabricated and “spiced up by innuendo and malice”.

Akbar has served as the editor of several newspapers including The Telegraph, Asian Age and The Sunday Guardian. He is currently a Bharatiya Janata Party MP in the Rajya Sabha.

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

The minister claimed the allegations had come up only before the 2019 Lok Sabha elections. “Why has this storm risen a few months before the 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 added.

He alleged that journalist Priya Ramani began a campaign against him by writing an article in a magazine. “She did not however name me as she knew it was an incorrect story,” he said. “When asked recently why she had not named me, she replied, in a tweet, ‘Never named him because he didn’t “do” anything.’”

In last year’s Vogue India article, Ramani described how an acclaimed newspaper editor called her for a job interview to his “plush south Mumbai hotel” when she was 23 and he was 43. The editor – who she last week claimed was MJ Akbar – did not meet Ramani in the hotel lobby and insisted that she meet him in his room. There, he offered her a drink. Though she refused, he drank vodka himself. She alleges that he went on to sing old Hindi songs to her and at one point, asked her to sit close to him.

Soon after Ramani’s tweet, other journalists, including Shuma Raha, Ghazala Wahab and Shutapa Paul, also accused Akbar of calling women to his hotel rooms for interviews, or making women feel uncomfortable by seeking to be alone with them.

A sea of innuendo, speculation and abusive diatribe has been built around something that never happened, said Akbar. “Shutapa Paul states, ‘The man never laid a hand on me’, Shuma Raha says, ‘I must clarify, however, he didn’t actually ‘do’ anything’. 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,” he said.

He further said Wahab had accused him of molesting her 21 years ago, “in an effort to damage” his reputation. “The only office where I worked with Ghazala Wahab was that of The Asian Age,” said Akbar. “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.”

He said it was important to note that Wahab and Ramani continued to work with him despite the alleged incidents. It clearly establishes that they had no apprehension and discomfort, he said. “Reason why they remained silent for decades is very apparent as Ramani has herself states, I never did anything,” he said.

The Congress, Communist Party of India (Marxist) and Samajwadi Party among others had demanded an explanation or a resignation from Akbar following the allegations. Delhi Commission for Women Chairperson Swati Maliwal on Friday wrote to Prime Minister Narendra Modi asking him to sack Akbar from his post.

Akbar, however, did not comment on the demands for his resignation.

The BJP has maintained silence on the allegations with senior ministers avoiding to comment on the government’s position on the matter. Union minister Smriti Irani said the onus of commenting on the allegations lies with the “gentleman concerned” while Minister of External Affairs Sushma Swaraj evaded a question on the government’s stance on Akbar.

Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman also refused to comment on whether the government will act against Akbar. She told News18 that she is “not the right person to comment on it”.

Since October 5, several women have used social media to make allegations of sexual harassment and misconduct against various journalists, media professionals and writers.

Here’s his full statement:

The allegations of misconduct made against me are false and fabricated, spiced up by innuendo and malice. I could not reply earlier as I was on an official tour abroad.

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

My response is:

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.  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.”

Shuma Raha says, “I must clarify, however, that he didn’t actually ‘do’ anything”. 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. 

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.

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.  

Demands to step down

Several journalists and prominent personalities have demanded Akbar’s dismissal in recent days. Journalist Barkha Dutt said the charges against him are criminal. “The rage of women is no longer wrapped in swathes of fear and doubt,” Dutt tweeted. “MJ Akbar must be sacked. Else women holding portfolios like defence and foreign affairs is meaningless.”

Former Jawaharlal Nehru Students’ Union Vice President Shehla Rashid urged Minister of External Affairs Sushma Swaraj to sack Akbar. “Please do the honourable thing and sack MJ Akbar from his post,” Rashid tweeted.

Sagarika Ghose, consulting editor with The Times of India, also joined calls for Akbar’s sacking. “The fear, loneliness, dignified heart-rending attempts at brave professionalism in the face of a monstrous predator, of Ghazala Wahab must make us all weep and demand justice. The Modi government must sack MJ Akbar,” Ghose tweeted.