Three months after he resigned from the Narendra Modi government following a flurry of sexual harassment allegations, journalist-turned-politician M.J. Akbar was back in the news on Monday.
The image of Akbar, who had been minister of state for external affairs, figured prominently on booklets and pamphlets for the three-day Pravasi Bharatiya Divas, which started in Varanasi on Monday. Prime Minister Narendra Modi will attend the Pravasi Bharatiya Divas on Tuesday.
Featuring the #MeToo accused as a star? Hasn’t he resigned?
— Priyanka Chaturvedi (@priyankac19) January 21, 2019
Several social media users uploaded images of pamphlets for Pravasi Bharatiya Divas, which showed Akbar sharing space with Modi, External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj and his counterpart as minister of state, retired army chief V.K. Singh.
The controversy, which was probably a result of the publicity material for Pravasi Bharatiya Divas being printed before Akbar's resignation, elicited a response from the Congress. Former Andhra Pradesh MP Madhu Goud Yashki uploaded an image of the Pravasi Bharatiya Divas poster in a sarcastic tweet, with a jibe aimed at Modi. Yashki tweeted, “For once I agree with Modi Ji-His Government is all about #PR Outreach & #NilBatteySannata Outcome.”
Congress national spokesperson Priyanka Chaturvedi also tweeted about the poster featuring Akbar and referred to the allegations against him during the MeToo campaign.
Akbar was arguably the highest profile target of the MeToo campaign in India. Several women journalists raised allegations of sexual harassment, molestation and even rape against Akbar, during his time as an editor with several major national dailies. Akbar vehemently denied the charges and launched a defamation suit against journalist Priya Ramani, who was the first person to accuse him of sexual harassment.
