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RS secretariat reconstitutes channel’s complaints committee, appoints officer junior to the accused.

New Delhi: More than a month after she filed a sexual harassment complaint against a senior officer in the Rajya Sabha secretariat, a top anchor of the state-run Rajya Sabha TV (RSTV) has alleged that no action has been taken.

Instead, the Rajya Sabha secretariat has completely reconstituted the channel’s internal complaints committee (ICC) — which the complainant was heading — and appointed a joint secretary-level officer to head the panel.

This joint secretary-level officer is junior to the officer accused of sexual harassment.

The accused officer is A.A. Rao, additional secretary in the Rajya Sabha secretariat, who is known to be close to the Vice-President of India and RS Chairman M. Venkaiah Naidu.

Also read: Bihar cricket body secretary accuses Vinod Rai of cover-up in BCCI sexual harassment case

The anchor has alleged that Rao repeatedly messaged her and interfered with her work, and that he made objectionable and “sexually coloured” remarks about her. She has also alleged that Rao is making her life “miserable” after she filed the complaint.

An RSTV source claimed that the secretariat’s decision to reconstitute the entire ICC was against the rules. “The committee’s term cannot be arbitrarily curtailed. If the committee was handling a complaint about one of the members, the member could have recused herself from the meetings,” the source told ThePrint.

Another source alleged that Rao was trying to influence the case, pointing out that the matter should’ve been handled by the complaints committee of the secretariat. “Rao is in the secretariat, so a case against him should go to the secretariat’s ICC. But he doesn’t want it to go to the secretariat. He wants a compromised and tailor-made ICC of RSTV to deal with the complaint,” this source alleged.

Reached for comment by ThePrint, Rao said he had not received a formal copy of the complaint, and would respond “effectively and in equal measure” when he presents his case before the committee.

However, officials close to him said the reconstitution of the ICC was the prerogative of the CEO of RSTV, and Rao had no role in it.

Rahul Mahajan, editor-in-chief of RSTV, declined to comment on the issue. PPK Ramacharyulu, secretary in the Rajya Sabha secretariat, assured that action would be taken on the complaint of sexual harassment.

What allegedly happened

The anchor has alleged in her complaint that no action has been taken against Rao because of his proximity to Vice-President Naidu. Rao, an Indian Information Service officer, has been handling the media on behalf of Naidu for years.

The anchor has marked her complaint to her seniors and also written a letter to the Vice-President.

In the email to her seniors, the anchor alleged that Rao had been interfering in her work through text messages between bulletins, over specific questions she had asked during a show.

She said that when she didn’t respond, Rao sent her more messages. Eventually, when he met her in person after a shoot, he allegedly took a dig at her and remarked that while she does not respond to the old man’s (Rao’s) messages, she has found a new love in office — editor-in-chief Mahajan.

She said this was a “sexually coloured” remark made in front of a junior, one she found extremely objectionable.

Witch-hunt and mental torture

The anchor recently wrote two more emails to the senior management of RSTV, pointing out that she had filed the complaint against Rao a month ago and had also written a letter to Vice-President Naidu, but no action has been taken against Rao.

She alleged that she was being harassed at the behest of Rao, and that some old issues regarding her travel bills and transport were being raked up to single her out. The issue, she said, had been settled long back, and what was happening now was no less than a witch-hunt, victimisation, and mental torture.

Also read: MP judge who resigned after accusing senior of sexual harassment moves SC for reinstatement

The anchor was also asked to go off air a month ago and was apparently severely reprimanded after she asked a question to a studio guest about the 1942 undertaking given by Atal Bihari Vajpayee, which said that he would not participate in any anti-British movement. It is unclear whether this is related to her other allegations of victimisation.

Letter to Vice-President

In her separate letter to the Vice-President, the anchor said it was unfortunate that the high offices of Vice-President of India and Rajya Sabha Chairman were failing to discharge their duties, as established by law and practice, in providing justice in cases of harassment of women.

“It was never easy for me to gather courage to protest and lodge a formal complaint against a senior officer, who openly flaunts his proximity to you, and stand up to fight for my rights,” the anchor said.

“I seek justice and I wish to submit that if justice is denied to me, I will be compelled to approach the National Commission for Women and/or honourable courts of justice,” she said.

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