MJ Akbar news updates: In a detailed statement, MJ Akbar has denied all 'false and fabricated' charges of sexual harassment and claimed he did not do anything to the women who accused him.

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Women have recounted their ordeals with journalist-turned-politician MJ Akbar right from the 1980s till as recently as in 2010-2011. Ranging from sexual harassment, sexism and abuse of power in his capacity as an editor of various newsrooms, they recalled Akbar's despicable behaviour.

"The minister who is facing allegations (of sexual harassment) should come forward and speak out whether the allegations against him are wrong or right, so that you all (journalists) and society (can) draw a conclusion," Congress spokesperson Randeep Singh Surjewala told reporters in Bhopal. "If he does not reply or does not want to reply, it will be clear that the ordeals (narrated by the women who have levelled the allegations) are true," he added.

As the #MeToo movement gathered pace, Congress demanded that Akbar should come clean on the allegations of sexual harassment levelled against him, and said his silence would mean that the charges are true.

"We will have to verify whether these allegations are true or false. We have to check the veracity of the post and the person who posted it... (Is baare me zaroor sochenge) We will definitely look into the issue," Shah was quoted as saying by The Times of India.

BJP president Amit Shah on Saturday responded to the allegations of sexual assault against junior foreign minister MJ Akbar, saying that it remains to be seen if the allegations are true or false.

The junior minister of foreign affairs, who returned from Equatorial Guinea where he was on an Africa tour, told media that he will release a statement on the matter "later on."

MJ Akbar, after facing a barrage of questions from media persons at New Delhi's international airport, arrived at his residence in the national capital.

When asked for her views on the allegations against Akbar, Sitharaman declined to comment .

Speaking to CNN News18 on the #MeToo movement, defence minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Thursday had said she "supports the courage with which the women are speaking out".

In her article, Wahab wrote that during her initial years at the newspaper, she " accepted everything as part of the office culture — Akbar's flirtation with young sub-editors, his blatant favouritism and his bawdy jokes". "His eyes fell on me. And my nightmare began" in her third year at The Asian Age.

Journalist and author Ghazala Wahab's article in The Wire recounted the horrors from 1994 when she joined The Asian Age (when Akbar was the editor).

India Today quoted him as saying, "I asked for an investigation based on what the media told me about the incident."

Rajya Sabha MP Subramanian Swamy took cognizance of the allegations against Akbar and has sought a probe into the charges.

The minister of state tendered his resignation via email, and the principal secretary has been marked in the email.

The junior MEA minister who has been accused of sexual misconduct by at least 14 women returned to India on Sunday morning and has reportedly tendered his resignation to PMO via an email.

Some of the women who have made these allegations chose to reveal their identities; others have shared their accounts anonymously, by reaching out to journalists Sandhya Menon (@TheRestlessQuil), Anoo Bhuyan (@AnooBhu), writer-comic Mahima Kukreja (@AGirlOfHerWords) and singer Chinmayi Sripaada (@chinmayi), among several others curating these stories on Twitter.

A wide range of accusations — from inappropriate behaviour to rape — have been levelled against public personalities from the fields of (mainly) the media and entertainment.

"Even as a naïve teenager I could tell he had tried this on other young women, and one of my greatest regrets is not doing more to stop it happening to others when I finally left," she said.

In an article originally published on Medium , she said: "Like any good journalist, Akbar asked so many questions, wanting to know every small detail to be used in a slow-burn game of sexual conquest. He started asking me to proofread the new book he was writing, in his office, sitting on his dark leather chair while he stood close behind and offered massages ostensibly because I looked stressed. And when I refused, he would try and kiss me as I squirmed away."

Ruth David, a journalist working at Bloomberg's London office, accused MJ Akbar of sexually harassing her during her time as a news trainee at Asian Age newspaper.

Union minister Smriti Irani spoke to media about the allegations against MJ Akbar, saying that "anybody who is speaking out should in no way be victimised, shamed or mocked. That is my only appeal to anyone who is witnessing this surge of emotions, of anger."

Journalist and author Harinder Baweja on Monday took to Twitter to share her story of sexual assault. She said that Akbar had a pattern of inviting himself over to female journalists' homes with alcohol.

RECAP: Harinder Baweja had said 'so many of us have an MJ story'

"We will have to verify whether these allegations are true or false. We have to check the veracity of the post and the person who posted it... (Is baare me zaroor sochenge) We will definitely look into the issue," Shah was quoted as saying by The Times of India.

A consensus has reportedly not been achieved among Bharatiya Janata Party members on whether MJ Akbar, a minister of state, can be ousted merely on the basis of allegations. Earlier BJP president Amit Shah had spoken about the issue, saying that it remains to be seen if the allegations are true or false.

Journalist and author Priya Ramani, who was the first person to accuse MJ Akbar of sexual misconduct, tweeted a response to the former journalist's resignation.

"Let the country judge the prime minister for his words. So far, his silence seems conspicuous," he said.

Congress leader Anand Sharma in a press conference questioned Prime Minister Narendra Modi's silence on the matter, saying: "The women of this country want to know what the prime minister thinks of this."

She also tweeted that "This incident traumatised me and I was filled with self-doubt and low esteem. I wish I had fought back then but I didn’t know how."

In a series of tweets, journalist Shutapa Paul recounted her experience at India Today, with MJ Akbar at the helm. After she had rejected one of his invitations back to his hotel, she said, "I became completely invisible in the organisation. None of my stories were getting approved, what ever I wrote was being ridiculed at edit meetings. Some Delhi colleagues told me about this."

RECAP: 'I’m no Cleopatra but he liked sitting and looking at me,' said Shutapa Paul

"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."

The junior minister has released a detailed statement, in which he said he will take legal action against the women for making 'false and fabricated' allegations against him. MJ Akbar said:

In a detailed statement, MJ Akbar said: "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. I will be taking appropriate legal action," Akbar said.

Responding to Priya Ramani, the first woman to speak out against him, MJ Akbar said: "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.'"

Priya Ramani did not name me because she knew it was incorrect: MJ Akbar

ANI quoted him as saying "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."

ANI further quoted him as saying: "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."

Refuting Ghazala Wahab's claims that he sexually assaulted in a private location, Akbar said: "At the time concerned, I had a very tiny cubicle, patched together by plywood and glass. Others had tables and chairs two feet away."

Pointing out that Ramani, as well as Wahab, kept working with him after these alleged incidents, Akbar said that the reason for their silence all these years is clear: he "never did anything."

Sources in the government had told Firstpost this morning that MJ Akbar would be asked to go. However, there appears to have been a shift in that position.

Journalist Barkha Dutt responded to MJ Akbar's statement denying charges of sexual assault lodged against him by at least 14 women, urging the media to boycott him and all of his ministry's official events.

Media must boycott him if govt does not have him resign: Barkha Dutt

Speaking to CNN News18 about MJ Akbar's claim that the allegations against him are part of a political conspiracy, Congress spokesperson Sanjay Jha said, "For Akbar to try and say that several women in various phases of their lives, encountering him in their journalistic careers, came together by some cosmic power... I don't think there is anything more atrocious than that."

Nothing more shocking and shameful than to say that it is a political conspiracy: Congress

Journalist Swati Chaturvedi hit out at the government for not having MJ Akbar step down despite at least 14 allegations of sexual assault against him. Tagging the Prime Minister's office in a tweet, she said: "What a shameful government you run @PMOIndia."

In his statement, MJ Akbar referred to accounts by journalists Priya Ramani, Ghazala Wahab, Shutapa Paul and others, highlighting that they had acknowledged in their stories that he "never did anything".

Congress leader Sanjay Jha condemned MJ Akbar's statement on Sunday, in what was the first reaction by the party.

Earlier in the day, Congress leader Anand Sharma had sought a statement from the junior minister of external affairs, and was quoted by IANS as saying, ""It is a question of women's dignity, security and safety. It was expected that the minister concerned would give an immediate explanation.

In his statement, MJ Akbar referred to accounts by journalists Priya Ramani, Ghazala Wahab, Shutapa Paul and others, highlighting that they had acknowledged in their stories that he "never did anything".

The only 'agenda', to borrow the word from #MJAkbar s statement is was and will. E simply this: enough is enough https://t.co/YFoVkrX7Fi

All the women who tried to deal with the trauma for two to three decades and were now encouraged to share their pain, had the general election in mind. How absurd https://t.co/YFoVkrX7Fi

Journalist Harinder Baweja, one of the women who accused MJ Akbar of sexual harassment, tweeted: "All the women who tried to deal with the trauma for two to three decades and were now encouraged to share their pain, had the general election in mind. How absurd... The only 'agenda', to borrow the word from MJ Akbar's statement is was and will be simply this: enough is enough."

Of all the things Akbar could have done, he managed to pick the absolutely stupidest thing? He has no political base or constituency; his presence or absence has no quantifiable impact on a party’s fortunes at the polls. Inept to suggest the accusations are politically motivated+ https://t.co/J2TM6mnGOV

Adding to the list of journalists condemning MJ Akbar's statement, Prem Panicker Akbar had "managed to pick the absolutely stupidest thing", referring to the junior minister linking the sexual harassment allegations against him to the 2019 general elections. "He has no political base or constituency; his presence or absence has no quantifiable impact on a party’s fortunes at the polls. Inept to suggest the accusations are politically motivated... And worse than the ineptitude is the cold-blooded cynicism of it — an attempt to deflect highly credible allegations by hiding behind politics."

#MJAkbar calls the sexual allegations a political conspiracy. It adds insult to injury and humiliation. Let this be a tipping point moment for the #MeToo #MeTooIndia movement. Don’t be intimidated. This is the time to rise even further. This is the time to fight back. Appalled.

Congress leader Sanjay Jha condemned MJ Akbar's statement on Sunday, in what was the first reaction by the party.

Earlier in the day, Congress leader Anand Sharma had sought a statement from the junior minister of external affairs, and was quoted by IANS as saying, ""It is a question of women's dignity, security and safety. It was expected that the minister concerned would give an immediate explanation.

2/2 14 women have spoken on record about MJ Akbar's years of sexual harassment. Here's the list and where they spoke up initially These are our heroes. These are who we salute. #MJAkbarMustGo #MJAkbar #TimesUp pic.twitter.com/q7Y0MewLZP

So far, 14 women have come on record to share their experiences with MJ Akbar. Women have recounted their ordeals with Akbar right from the 1980s till as recently as in in 2010-2011. Ranging from sexual harassment, sexism and abuse of power in his capacity as an editor, they recalled Akbar's despicable behaviour.

Journalist Sandhya Menon, who has been at the forefront of the #MeToo movement in India, tweeted: "I stand by every single woman who has named MJ Akbar as a harasser."

The BJP or the govt is not supporting or unsupporting anyone. It is a legal issue and has to be looked at from that lens, it is not a political issue: @thevaibhavag , BJP | #MJAkbarMustGo pic.twitter.com/amynu7KJNP

BJP leader Vaibhav Agarwal told TimesNow that neither the party, nor the government was "supporting or unsupporting anyone". "It is a legal issue and has to be looked at from that lens, it is not a political issue," he told the news channel.

Union minister Ramdas Athawale said MJ Akbar should resign if found guilty. "Even if personalities like Nana Patekar or MJ Akbar are found guilty, action should be taken against them," Athawale said. "If someone is guilty, the person should be punished. But according to me, there is a possibility that the platform could be used to implicate someone in a false case. The police should verify such allegations."

MJ Akbar returns to India LATEST updates: Junior foreign minister MJ Akbar has denied all allegations of sexual harassment against him. In a detailed statement released hours after his return to India, Akbar named some of the women who accused him of sexual misconduct, claiming that he did not do anything to them. He also said he will take legal action against the women for making "false and fabricated" allegations against him.

However, there is still no clarity on whether Akbar will resign or will be asked to step down from the post of Minister of State for External Affairs. Earlier, reports had claimed that he had resigned over an email, but there was no mention of his resignation in the statement.

Earlier on Sunday, Congress leader Anand Sharma questioned Prime Minister Narendra Modi's silence on the matter, calling it "conspicuous". Later in the day, Union minister Ramdas Athawale said Akbar should resign if found guilty.

In the last few days, at least 14 women have offered their accounts of alleged sexual harassment by Akbar as the #MeToo movement swept across India, bringing to fore sordid tales of sexual harassment by influential men in different walks of lives.

While the BJP has kept mum, some woman ministers have lent their support to the #MeToo movement without taking a stand on the charges against Akbar. Party leaders have said it is for Akbar to respond to the charges first.

On reports of his resignation, journalist and author Priya Ramani said Akbar's resignation was a "big win for the #MeToo movement" in India. It was in response to her tweet accusing the junior minister of sexual harassment that several women opened about with their "MJ stories".

The latest to accuse Akbar of sexual harassment was Ruth David, a journalist at Bloomberg London. She published an article on Medium, accusing Akbar of sexually harassing her during her time at The Asian Age.

Veteran journalist Barkha Dutt tweeted about MJ Akbar's resignation, saying that he should face criminal charges and legal prosecution as well.

Journalist Ghazala Wahab, one of the 14 women who accused MJ Akbar of sexual misconduct, said that if the MEA has no qualms letting a sexual predator represent India abroad, then perhaps the world must refuse to receive him, in solidarity with the #MeToo movement not just here but worldwide.

Rajya Sabha MP and BJP leader Subramanian Swamy has sought an investigation into the charges against Akbar. India Today quoted him as saying, "I asked for an investigation based on what the media told me about the incident." "Naturally, this issue will be raised in Parliament," he added.

Akbar returned from an official trip to African nations on Sunday morning. He was greeted by a throng of reporters at New Delhi's international airport, who threw a barrage of questions at him that he chose to ignore.

While the BJP has maintained a studied silence on the matter so far, party sources have said the charges against him are serious, and his continuance as a minister is no longer guaranteed. A final call will be taken by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, they said. There is also a view within the party that there is no legal case against him, and allegations pertain to a time long before he became a minister.