If #MeToo Accused Can Become Punjab CM, Why Should Common Man Resign Until Allegations Are Proven?

In a recent viral clip of the All India Mahila Congress Foundation Day program in Delhi, Congress ex-President and current Member of Parliament, Rahul Gandhi, quoted:

Two-three women can be seen around Mahatma Gandhi in some of his pictures. Have you seen a picture of Mohan Bhagwat with any woman? That’s because RSS suppresses women and our organisation gives them a platform. Modi-RSS didn’t make any woman PM of the country, Congress made.

The MP from Wayanad also said,

That’s because RSS suppresses women and our organisation gives them a platform. Modi-RSS didn’t make any woman PM of the country, Congress made.

Congress has a different ideology than BJP and RSS. As a Congress worker, I can compromise with other ideologies but not with BJP and RSS’ ideology.

Clearly Rahul Gandhi was indicating that his party has zero tolerance for disrespect towards women. 

WATCH VIDEO – 

पूरा विडियो देखिए और समझिए कैसे झूठ फैलाया जाता है।यह सबसे ज़्यादा ख़तरनाक तब हो जाता है जब पढ़ें लिखे लोग झूठे प्रचार में शामिल हो जाते हैं !! https://t.co/k9g8rhChlT pic.twitter.com/ICI0pB839E

— Aadesh Rawal (@AadeshRawal) September 16, 2021

However, just within a week, with the turn of events in Punjab Politics, Charanjit Singh Channi, a three-time MLA from Chamkaur Sahib constituency, has taken oath as the new CM, after Captain Amarinder Singh resigned due to “humiliation” that he faced from within his party.

Without getting into politics, Channi who had been the technical education minister for the state of Punjab, had been called out by a lady IAS officer during the ongoing #MeToo controversy in 2018. 

What was the Controversy?

A woman IAS officer had accused Channi in October 2018 of sending “inappropriate” text messages to her. However, Channi claimed that this was politically motivated. He then quoted,

Akalis targeted me as I raised the Bargari sacrilege and Dalit issues. They wanted me to stop raising these issues. They will, however, not succeed in their designs.

In reply to a question on the controversy, Channi further stated that he inadvertently forwarded the text to the IAS officer and some other persons. The then minister in the state government said,

No vulgar message was sent. It was just some quote.

Channi said he had already tendered an apology to the IAS officer and added that she had accepted his apology. He also said,

Smoke was created without any fire.

He had also added that then Punjab Chief Minister Captain Amarinder Singh had also issued clarification over the issue. Speaking to mediapersons, Channi said he was working as a minister under the CM and would resign if he asked him to do so.

He also denied role of people from his party behind the controversy. Channi then said,

I respect women and always call female staff members of my department and women party workers as sister.

May 2021

However, in May 2021, this same controversy once again resurfaced, when Punjab Women’s Commission sent a complaint to the state government, regarding a three-year-old case. The Commission was seeking a response to its complaint within a week.

Manisha Gulati, the chairperson of the commission said that if the government didn’t respond within the stipulated time, she and her entire team would go on a fast. She also then said that they would go on a sit-in protest at the Matka Chowk in Chandigarh.

Gulati said that she wanted to ensure that the woman gets justice and that many IAS officers are pressuring her to take action on the issue. She then quoted,

When the State Chief Secretary is a woman, a national party president is a woman then how come a woman IAS officer can’t get justice?

Manisha Gulati then added that the commission had never received a written complaint from the woman who had allegedly faced harassment. The commission decided to take suo moto notice of the case from the 2018 media reports. Additionally, they had also waited for a reply from the then chief secretary of Punjab, Karan Avtar Singh. Gulati was however expecting a better response as the current chief secretary was also a female officer.

Gulati had also added that Punjab Women‘s Commission latest complaint was a reminder to the state government after it failed to submit a response at that time.

MDO Take:

• We have always maintained that the #MeToo campaign which was started in the west in 2017, came to India in 2018, only to fix the Men in power
• When every country has a legal system in place, the campaign of naming shaming Men by one sided allegations had its repercussions 
• In most cases, identities of the accusers remained anonymous, while accounts of alleged wrongdoings attributed to Men were posted publicly
• Of course, we cannot claim that all allegations were false
• However, all ‘accused’ Men were asked to step down from their positions and jobs, even before an allegation was proven
• First one to go was Minister of State (MoS) for External Affairs M J Akbar, and then a series of prominent names followed (refer to the detailed list at the end of this article, curated by Firstpost as on November 2019)
• While most of these men were sacked or asked to step down from their respective positions, shouldn’t a party like Congress – that claims to be torchbearer for women empowerment – not have chosen a #MeToo accused as Punjab CM?
• Official Twitter handle @IndiaMeToo that would aggressively tweet and demand resignations of Men on mere allegations, has merely chose to RT some random tweet on this issue (as on September 20, 2021 1400hrs)
• You can leave your comments in this matter on the tweet below

#MeToo India ‘Accused’ – List Updated By Firstpost (As on November 2019)

Accused	Allegations (click on link for full details)	Accused by	Status
MJ Akbar | Veteran journalist, Union minister	Accused of sexual harassment, engaging in predatory behaviour, abusing position of power.	Multiple women	Akbar files defamation case, denies all allegations; 17 women journalists ask court to hear their testimony about the ‘culture of casual misogyny, entitlement and sexual predation that he engendered and presided over” at the Asian Age newspaper. Akbar steps down as minister of state for External Affairs
Alok Nath | Actor	Accused of rape, sexual harassment, inappropriate behavior.	Multiple women	FIR filed against Nath; court grants him bail. Nath files defamation case against writer-producer who accused him of rape.
Babu Haabi | Singer-rapper	Accused of rape and harassment.	Anonymous	Haabi denies allegation
Gursimran Khamba | Comedian	Accused of forcefully kissing a woman, harassment and emotional abuse.	Anonymous	Khamba admits to toxic behaviour, denies harassment; suspended temporarily from comedy collective AIB. Hotstar cancels AIB show
Utsav Chakraborty | Writer-actor	Accused of sending unsolicited dick pics to unknown women; asking for nudes.	Multiple women (named, anonymous)	All his videos were delisted by AIB; Chakraborty issues an apology. A year later, Chakraborty says that the allegations against him were fabricated, countering several of the accusers’ narratives in a series of tweets.
Kanan Gill | Comedian	Accused of inappropriately touching a group of women while inebriated.	Anonymous	Kanan issues apology; woman says she accepts apology, doesn’t intend to pursue the matter further
Chetan Bhagat | Writer	Accused of sending inappropriate messages.	Multiple women (named, anonymous)	Bhagat apologises for ‘flirtatious exchange’; denies other allegations
Vairamuthu | Lyricist	Accused of making physical advances and asking for sexual favours in exchange for professional opportunity.	Chinmayi Sripaada	Vairamuthu denies the allegation
Kailash Kher | Musician	Accused of inappropriately touching women.	Multiple, anonymous via @TheRestlessQuil and others	Kher denies knowledge of actions he’s been accused of
Rajat Kapoor | Actor	Accused of making inappropriate advances and harassment.	Multiple women	Kapoor issued an apology on Twitter.
Jeeveshu Ahluwalia | Comedian	Accused of asking an interviewer inappropriate questions.	Anonymous	Ahluwalia apoligises; dropped by management company
Vikas Bahl | Filmmaker	Accused of attempting to physically force himself on a woman; verbal harassment at work; inappropriate conduct	Multiple women (named, anonymous)	Super 30 actor Hrithik Roshan distances himself from director; Phantom Films dissolved
Zulfi Syed | Model-actor	Accused of making forcible sexual advances.	Natasha Hemrajani	Syed apologises to Hemrajani
Abhijeet Bhattacharya | Singer	Accused of intimidation and sexual harassment.	Anonymous	Bhattacharya denies the allegations.
Raghu Dixit | Musician	Accused of sexual harassment and making unwanted advances.	Multiple, anonymous	Dixit has acknowledged one survivor’s allegations and apologised
Sajid Khan | Filmmaker	Accused of sexual harassment, flashing women.	Multiple women	Khan denies allegations, steps down as director of Housefull 4
Piyush Mishra | Writer-actor	Accused of unwelcome advances.	Ketki Joshi, anonymous	Mishra apologises for causing hurt, adds he doesn’t remember details
Varun Grover | Writer	Accused of harassment.	Anonymous	Grover replies to allegation with pointed rebuttal, calls the claims ‘completely fabricated and defamatory’, says he is open to an investigation
Aditi Mittal | Comedienne	Accused of kissing without consent on stage.	Kaneez Surka	Mittal issues unconditional apology to Surka, says no intent to cause hurt
Zain Durrani | Actor	Accused of physical violence and mental torture.	Saloni Chopra	Durrani has issued no comment at this time
Vibhu Sharma | Event manager	Accused of sexual assault.	Anonymous	Sharma has issued no comment at this time; Impresario, the firm he’s employed by, sets up inquiry committee
Sachin Garg | Writer	Accused of sexual harassment.	Anonymous	Garg issues statement that says he believed the encounter was consensual; apologises for having caused hurt
Kiran Nagarkar | Writer	Accused of making inappropriate physical advances and asking women to video chat with him.	Multiple women (named, anonymous via @TheRestlessQuil)	Nagarkar denies all allegations. A year later, he passes away in Mumbai.
Pablo Bartholomew | Photographer	Accused of making persistent calls to a female interviewer despite her disinterest; allegedly casting doubt on her ability to profile his work after she refused to go out with him.	Anonymous	Bartholomew says with no timeline, details or context provided by anonymous accuser, he is unable to respond to the charge. Reaffirms his commitment to gender equality.
KR Sreenivas | Journalist	Accused of making sexually laden gestures and sending inappropriate messages to women.	Multiple women	Under investigation by The Times of India, says he’s complying; sent on ‘administrative leave’
Gautam Adhikari | Retd journalist	Accused of forcibly kissing and making unwanted physical advances.	Multiple women	Adhikari denies allegation; resigns as senior fellow at Center for American Progress, Washington DC. A year later, Adhikari passes away.
Meghnad Bose | Journalist	Accused of objectifying and making lewd comments about women, inappropriately touching and harassing them.	Multiple women (named, anonymous)	Bose issues apology
Rameez Shaikh | Journalist	Accused of coercing for sex; harassment and demand for nudes over a period of two years.	Multiple women (named, anonymous)	Shaikh issues apology; denies sexual assault. Homegrown removes his content from the website
Manoj Ramachandran | Journalist	Accused of sending an inappropriate text message.	Sandhya Menon	No statement from Ramachandran at this moment
Prashant Jha | Journalist	Accused of sending inappropriate, unwelcome messages.	Avantika Mehta	Jha steps down as the chief of bureau and political editor of Hindustan Times
Sidharth Bhatia | Journalist	Accused of harassment and making inappropriate comments.	Multiple women	Bhatia refutes all allegations in rejoinder.
Mayank Jain | Journalist	Accused of unwelcome sexual advances, sexual harassment	Multiple women	Jain resigns from his role as principal correspondent with Business Standard
Aayush Soni | Journalist	Accused of unwelcome sexual advances	Anonymous	Soni admits to wrongdoing in the past, says he has apologised for such behaviour
Satadru Ojha | Journalist	Accused of sexual harassment.	Multiple (named, anonymous)	Ojha relieved of current duties; TOI says all allegations are being investigated
Suhel Seth | Marketing expert, writer	Accused of sexual harassment.	Multiple women	No comment from Seth. Tata & Sons ends contract with Seth’s firm, Counselage. Seth’s invitation to speak at a CEO forum was rescinded.
Sham Kaushal | Stunt director	Accused of showing female colleague a porn clip.	Nameeta Prakash	Kaushal apologises for causing hurt inadvertently
Ashish Patil | VP — Brand Partnerships, talent management	Accused of sexual harassment.	Anonymous	YRF terminates Patil’s services
Anirban Blah | Talent manager	Accused of sexual harassment.	Multiple women	Blah steps down from Kwan, talent management agency he founded
Vinod Dua | Journalist	Accused of sexual harassment.	Nishtha Jain	Dua refers to allegations as mudslinging; The Wire, which he is currently associated with, says their IC will look into the accusation. External Committee later ends probe saying it “does not have the unconditional consent of both sides”.
Jatin Das | Artist	Accused of sexual harassment.	Multiple women	Das refutes all allegations
CP Surendran | Editor, poet	Accused of sexual harassment at the workplace, at lit fests.	Multiple women	Surendran issues statement claiming, ‘This is the lynch mob of the drawing room at work. I am being shamed in a Scarlet Letter-meets-The Crucible social media-produced movie’. Later stepped down from Matrubhumi Festival’s board of directors and dropped from Chair Poetry Evenings programme for 2019.
Shahid Datawala | Photographer	Accused of molestation.	Amaaya Dasgupta	Gallery TARQ drops Datawala’s exhibition after Dasgupta’s #MeToo post; Datawala issues unconditional public apology as per Dasgupta’s request
Riyas Komu | Artist	Accused of sexual harassment.	Anonymous	Komu denies wrongdoing but apologises for causing hurt, steps down from managerial positions at Kochi Biennale Foundation pending inquiry
Ere Gowda | Filmmaker	Accused of sexual assault.	Anonymous	No comment from Gowda; his film Balekempa is dropped from 20th Jio MAMI Mumbai Film Festival and Dharamshala International Film Festival
Anu Malik | Music composer	Accused of making inappropriate, unwelcome remarks.	Shweta Pandit	Malik’s lawyer says allegations are an attempt at character assassination; Malik steps down from judging duties at Indian Idol
Arjun Sarja | Actor	Accused of inappropriate touching.	Sruthi Hariharan	Sarja refutes allegation
Soumik Sen | Filmmaker	Accused of sexual misconduct during the making of Cheat India.	Anonymous	No comment from Sen; Atul Kasbekar’s company Ellipsis Entertainment — which produced Cheat India — issues statement saying no complaint regarding Sen was received
John Vijay | Actor	Accused of inappropriate behaviour.	Multiple women	Vijay says remarks made in jest were misunderstood, apologises; affirms support for #MeToo movement
Kapil Dawda, Sachin Paranjape, unnamed male | Teach For India fellows	Accused of sexual harassment.	Multiple accusers	Dawda was reinstated to his role after an inquiry found that a case for sexual harassment was not made out. No comment from Paranjpe
Kartik Iyer, Praveen Das, Bodhisatwa Dasgupta and Dinesh Swamy | Dentsu Aegis Networks	Accused of sexual harassment.	Multiple accusers	All four men asked to step down from their respective positions. Iyer refutes allegations, Dasgupta says he doesn’t have further comment
Mukesh Chhabra | Casting director	Accused of sexual misconduct.	Multiple women	Chhabra expresses ‘surprise, shock and disappointment’ over allegations. Fox Star Hindi — which is producing his directorial debut Kizzie Aur Manny — suspends Chhabra until charges are investigated
Vicky Sidana | Casting director	Accused of sexual misconduct.	Multiple women	Sidana calls allegations ‘an attempt to malign’ him. Sidana files a civil defamation suit against actress Kritika Sharma, who accused him of rape.
Gaurang Doshi | Producer	Accused of physical violence.	Flora Saini	No comment from Doshi
Chintan Ruparel | Founder, Terribly Tiny Tales	Accused of sexual harassment, rape.	Multiple women	No comment from Ruparel; Terribly Tiny Tales announces his departure as Chief Content Officer
Saif Mahmood | Lawyer, writer, activist	Accused of sexual misconduct.	Journalist Anuja Jaiman	Mahmood issues extensive statement putting forward his version of events.
Sudarshan Banerjee | Co-founder, Utopeia ad agency	Accused of sexual harassment.	Four women, with some allegations substantiated by Utopeia co-founder Mitali Srivastava Hough	Banerjee sent on two-week leave, but later resumes. Utopeia wraps up probe against Banerjee.
Gaurav Sawant | Journalist	Accused of sexual harassment in incident dating to 2003.	Journalist Vidya Krishnan	Sawant files defamation suit against Krishnan and The Caravan, which published the report.
Rahul Nahar, Pritam Mutha | Xrbia Developers	Accused of sexual harassment.	Belkis Campos, Houria (last name withheld to protect identity)	Campos lodges complaint with the Crime Against Women Cell; Nahar denies allegation.
Male personnel at All India Radio’s Dharamshala, Obra, Kurukshetra stations	Accused of sexual harassment, variety of inappropriate behaviour/misconduct.	Multiple women	Some of the accused personnel were transferred to other stations.
Subodh Gupta | Artist	Accused of sexual harassment.	Anonymous allegations, purportedly from multiple women. Art critic Rosalyn D’Mello substantiates some of the allegations	Gupta has denied the allegations, calling them ‘false and fabricated’. A year later, he has filed a defamation suit against Instagram handle @herdsceneand, which aired the allegations against him.
Mukesh Agrawal, IPS | Additional Director General of Police (Law and Order) in Assam	Accused of sexual harassment in case dating to 2012.	Leena Doley, Additional Superintendent of Police in Assam	A committee was set up as per Vishakha Guidelines, but Doley’s complaint was dismissed. Her husband committed suicide six months after she filed her complaint.
Dr P Vijayakumar | Professor, Tata Institute of Social Sciences	Accused of sexual harassment by a former student.	Preethi Krishnan.	TISS promises necessary action will be taken post-investigation.
Chitravina N Ravikiran | Carnatic musician	Accused of sexual harassment.	Anonymous allegations by former students made public by activist Radhika Ganesh on Twitter.	Ravikiran says, “I have never sexually harassed anyone”; is dropped from Margazhi season line-up by Madras Music Academy.
Srinivas Methuku | Asst Prof, Symbiosis Law College	Accused of sexual harassment.	Multiple female students; allegations amplified by Apoorva Yarabahalli and Singdha Jayakrishnan.	Methuku unaffected by allegations; Yarabahalli and Jayakrishnan asked to leave SLC campus citing “disciplinary issues”.
U Rajesh | Musician	Accused of sexual harassment.	Anonymous allegations by former student made public by Chinmayi Sripaada on Twitter.	U Rajesh has not responded to the allegation; his concert, organised by Milapfest, was called off.
TS Sudhir | Journalist	Accused of sexual harassment.	Ratnika Sharma.	Sudhir denies allegation with detailed statement.
Varun Patra | Founder, Homegrown	Accused of (audio) recording a sexual encounter without partner’s consent.	Anonymous allegation, shared by artist Priyanka Paul on her social media timelines.	Patra steps down from position at Homegrown.

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Anurag Kashyap Charged With MeToo | Read His 2018 Statement On Women Coming Out After Years

#MeTooIndia | Anonymous Handles Cannot Become Judge In Their Own Case Not Allowing Accused To Defend Himself

Ali Zafar’s #MeToo Accuser Apologises | Asks All To Do Research Before Naming Men As There Can Be ‘Agendas’

READ ORDER | Personal Feud, Not Getting Along With Male Colleague Would Not Constitute Sexual Harassment

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