Days after Tanushree Dutta alleged that actor Nana Patekar had harassed her 10 years ago on the sets of a film shoot, Union Minister Maneka Gandhi on Tuesday came out in support of the actress saying that harassment of any kind will not be tolerated.
“Harassment of any kind will not be tolerated. We were the first govt to start ‘SHe Box’ on social media and women who wrote to us on harassment, we took action immediately,” Gandhi said.
She also stressed on the need to start a “#MeToo like campaign against sexual harassment at workplaces, Union Minister for Women and Child Development Gandhi said, “I feel we should also start something called ‘Me Too India’ in which any woman who has been harassed at any point should write to us and we should investigate.” .
The Union Minister’s support to Dutta has come at a time when a number of Bollywood celebrities and stars came out in support of the actor, saying her voice deserved to be heard while Patekar’s lawyer announced intent to send a legal notice to her.
It also came at a time when Dutta has alleged that she was being threatened by Raj Thackeray-led Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS). Dutta had alleged that Patekar had harassed her on the sets of a film “Horn OK Pleassss” in 2008.
#MeToo campaign had gone viral on social media in October 2017 after allegations of sexual misconduct against Hollywood producer Harvey Weinstein. The hashtag was used on media to demonstrate the widespread prevalence of sexual assault and harassment, especially in the workplace.
