On MJ Akbar sexual-harassment allegations, Smriti Irani says ‘gentleman concerned would be better positioned to speak’  

Smriti Irani. 

When Union minister Smriti Irani was asked about allegations of sexual harassment against MJ Akbar, on Thursday, she said, “The gentleman concerned would be better positioned to speak on this issue.”

Irani further said, “I appreciate that the media is accosting his (former) female colleagues but I think it is for the gentleman concerned to issue a statement (and) not for me because I was personally not present there.”

#WATCH: Union Minister Smriti Irani reacts on #MJAkbar, says 'The gentlemen concerned would be better positioned to speak on this issue. I appreciate that the media is accosting his female colleagues...Anybody who is speaking out should in no way be shamed, victimised or mocked.' pic.twitter.com/nFam61Cn20

— ANI (@ANI) October 11, 2018

Female journalists also came forward outing the names of male coworkers who sexually harassed them when the #MeToo campaign began in India and some of them accused MJ Akbar of sexual harassment and assault when he was a journalist. Akbar is now a junior foreign minister in the Narendra Modi government.

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