BJP MP questions #MeToo campaign in India, dubs it wrong

As the #MeToo movement gained ground in Bollywood and the media in India, BJP MP Udit Raj on Tuesday questioned why women were coming out with their stories 10 years after the alleged incidents and dubbed it as the "beginning of wrong practice".

His comments come in the wake of a string of accusations by women against Bollywood personalities, including one against actor Nana Patekar by actress Tanushree Dutta.

"The #MeToo campaign is necessary, but what is the point in accusing someone of sexual harassment after 10 years? After years, how will it be possible to verify facts of the events?

"It must also be considered that it can ruin the public image of accused person. It is the beginning of a wrong practice," the Bharatiya Janata Party (MP) from northwest Delhi tweeted in Hindi.

Later, Udit Raj said that it was not correct to say that all who level charges were perfect and cannot lie.

"There is exploitation of women; there is a casting couch; but, it is not correct to say that all charge-levellers, all those who claimed that they have been exploited, are goddesses and are perfect and that they cannot lie," he told the media here.

He said he had come across several honey-trap cases that have come out in the public domain.

"I have also come across cases under Section 376 (rape) wherein the women have extorted money from men. I have also seen cases of women in live-in relationships later accusing their partners of rape. And many (accused) men are still languishing in jail."

His remarks came after Tanushree in September spoke of her experience at the hands of Nana Patekar on the set of "Horn OK Pleassss" in 2008.

Last week, Tanushree filed a police complaint against Patekar, who has denied the charges.

--IANS

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