Senior Congress leader Manish Tewari took the first step on Friday to rehabilitate sexual harassment accused Tarun Tejpal. The Tehelka founder was acquitted by a district court in Goa on charges of rape filed by a junior colleague.
The NDA government in Goa has filed an appeal against the acquittal and the Bombay High Court came down harshly on the verdict as well. The Goa Bench of the Bombay High Court noted that the verdict read like a “manual for rape victims” as it had gone on to describe how a victim should or should not respond in such cases.
After his acquittal, Tarun Tejpal had thanked multiple Congress leaders for their support. And now, it appears that another senior leader of the party, Manish Tewari, is trying his level best to rehabilitate the alleged sexual predator.
Manish Tewari went to the extent of claiming that Taruj Tejpal was “hugely politically persecuted” and that he has been “honourably exonerated”, thereby contributing to the further trauma of the victim.
Even Rohini Singh of The Wire, in her response to the comment by Tewari, said, “He wasn’t politically persecuted Manish. There were serious charges against him. Women journalists who have worked with him have had similar stories. It is appalling that you are making him out to be the victim here. Shame on you.”
Manish Tewari is also being heavily criticised by people on the social media platform.
https://twitter.com/divya_16_/status/1433717409966280704?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw https://twitter.com/gopimaliwal/status/1433717055463718912?ref_src=twsrc%5EtfwOne user used a Animal Farms reference to comment on the hypocrisy of the Congress leader.
https://twitter.com/iswastikp/status/1433715170069475335?ref_src=twsrc%5EtfwTejpal’s acquittal was heavily criticized across all sections of the political spectrum. The Goa Government consequently announced that it will be challenging the acquittal in the Bombay High Court.