NEW DELHI: 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”.
Strongly criticising the #MeToo campaign expressed his sentiments on Twitter where he wrote in Hindi, “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.
Later, Udit Raj said that it was not correct to say that all who level charges were perfect and cannot lie.
The BJP MP said every case should be examined individually, as there are some women who level allegations for the sake of money.
Speaking to ANI, Raj said: “This (#MeToo) should be looked after case by case. I have seen cases where it has become a habit of women to put allegations over a man, take Rs 2-4 lakhs and then look for another. There are honey-trap cases too.”
The BJP lawmaker further claimed that the movement has created a feeling of terror in India as men now avoid meeting women alone.
“I am not saying that casting couch and exploitation does not happen. We should see that the #MeToo campaign is helping people, but it has disadvantages too. Men have economic power, they have political power. Whether they are politicians or authorities, men now avoid meeting women alone. Why do they do so? This has created a feeling of terror,” he said.
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 on the set of “Horn OK Pleassss” in 2008.
Last week, Tanushree filed a police complaint against Patekar, who has denied the charges.