MeToo helping but also doing causing damage: BJP MP

BJP MP Udit Raj Tuesday termed the #MeToo movement in India a "wrong practice" and questioned the relevance of making sexual harassment allegations against anybody after 10 years.

The #MeToo movement has intensified in the country with more women recounting their experiences of sexual harassment in the entertainment and media industry.

Observing that one should go case-by-case, Raj said there are several instances where women did this after taking the money and then moved on to the next target.

However, he asserted that if someone has exploited a woman, the person should be "shot".

"#MeToo movement is important but what is the relevance of making sexual harassment allegations against anybody ten years later? How will the truth in these allegations be established after so long?

"The person on whose the allegations will be levelled, how much it will tarnish his image is worth giving a thought. A wrong practice is being initiated," he tweeted in Hindi.

The lawmaker from the north-west Delhi constituency said the #MeToo movement was being used for blackmail.

"How is it possible that a girl who is in a live-in relationship can level rape allegations against her partner and he is booked and sent to jail. Such incidents are happening so frequently these days. Isn't it being used for blackmailing?" he said.

The movement started after actor Tanushree Dutta alleged that Nana Patekar sexually harassed her on the sets of a movie in 2008. Since then, many women have come out in public to share their experiences of harassment

Patekar's lawyer has sent a legal notice to Dutta for allegedly making false accusations against the actor in an incident that dates back to a decade.

"While the Metoo campaign is helping it is also doing causing damage. Men have financial as well as political powers. Men have started avoiding meeting women alone. Be it, politicians or officials. Why? There is a terror. Therefore it should be on a case-by-case basis.

"There are many cases which have come to me in which there are women who are habituated to this. They take Rs 2-4 lakhs and then they leave. Then they pick up some others. They steal, they blackmail. Aren't their cases of honey trapping?" he asked.

He said, "I admit that it is in the nature of men but are women perfect? We should talk about it in the Indian context. I am repeating that if someone has exploited, shoot them."

Raj pointed out that he had raised his voice about the misuse of the SC/ST (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, the Dowry Act and others, and said: "can't this (Metoo) be misused?".

(With inputs from agencies.)