#MeToo in India: Congress asks Narendra Modi to clarify if he supports criminal defamation case by MJ Akbar

New Delhi: The Congress on Monday asked Prime Minister Narendra Modi to clarify whether he supports the criminal defamation case filed by his minister MJ Akbar against a woman journalist who accused Akbar of sexually harassing her.

The party dared Modi to come clear on which side he stands - with the victims in the MeToo campaign or with the accused. [caption id=“attachment_5381301” align=“alignleft” width=“380”] File photos of MJ Akbar and Priya Ramani.[/caption] “We would like to ask the prime minister on which side does he stand. These are women with harrowing experiences who have come out. They are all women and not connected to each other,” Congress spokesman RPN Singh said. “We would like to ask the prime minister: does he support the defamation case? He has to make his stand absolutely clear,” he added. Akbar on Monday filed a criminal defamation case against journalist Priya Ramani, one of the several women who have accused him of sexually harassing them in the capacity of an editor at different publications. The Congress leader said that the prime minister has not “uttered a word” in cases such as that of a Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) MLA being accused of raping a woman in Uttar Pradesh or the Bihar shelter home case. “We ask the prime minister today, that he has to speak up. Where does he stand on these matters?” Singh said.