Mallika Dua, who is the daughter of veteran journalist Vinod Dua and also a comedian, has come up with a statement following allegations of sexual harassment and stalking against her father. Earlier today, a former journalist had accused Vinod Dua of humiliating her and molesting her when she had just begun her career in media and journalism.
Following the allegations, many on social media questioned the silence of The Wire, a leftist propaganda website where Vinod Dua is currently working. Many also questioned silence of Mallika Dua, who has been quite vocal and active about #MeToo allegations on Twitter. Around 8 PM on Sunday, Mallika issued a statement on Twitter.
https://twitter.com/MallikaDua/status/1051479783727685632?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw
Her statement was addressed to Nishtha Jain, the lady who had accused Vinod Dua. Mallika reiterated that she supported #MeToo movement but rued the fact that Nishtha Jain had “dragged her name” in a controversy involving her father.
It should be noted that the Nishtha Jain had mentioned Mallika Dua’s name in her original Facebook post in reference to Vinod Dua hitting out against Bollywood actor Akshay Kumar, who had made an alleged ‘obscene’ comment against her daughter on a TV show. Ms. Jain had highlighted that aspect to show the hypocrisy of Vinod Dua.
After expressing displeasure with the victim naming her, Mallika Dua went on to abuse people who were asking her to speak up. She termed these people as ‘bhakts’ and ‘RW trolls’ and asked them to ‘f*ck off’. She reiterated that she stands by the #MeToo movement.
She ended her statement by saying that she stands by her father in this battle.
Meanwhile, Nishtha Jain appeared to have responded to this statement by Mallika Dua that addressed her. She posted the following message on her Facebook profile:
“The daughter will stand by her predator father. Wife will stand by her predator husband. Bloodlines run deeper than #MeToo.”
Nishtha Jain also posted that the Internal Complaints Committee (ICC) in The Wire is looking into the allegations. She said that it is a test for The Wire, and asked, “does it stand with #MeToo?”