After its own ‘star’ journalist, Vinod Dua, was accused of sexual harassment in the ongoing #Metoo movement, The Wire’s position has become a bit defensive on the issue. However, in a new low, The Wire not only backed Vinod Dua, but also allowed him to issue a clarification that reeks more of victim shaming rather than coming clean on the allegations and proving his innocence.
Watch how @VinodDua7 shamelessly insinuates that MeToo cases are a smokescreen to divert attention from criticism of Modi govt. @thewire_in have deleted this video from their YouTube channel and uploaded a new video in which this ?? portion has been heavily edited. pic.twitter.com/yNkQrubTI4
— Prominent Citizen Spaminder Bharti (@attomeybharti) October 17, 2018
I got an email from the Wire on 15th Oct about setting up an ICC. This was after I had tweeted that The Wire had not…
Nishtha Jain ಅವರಿಂದ ಈ ದಿನದಂದು ಪೋಸ್ಟ್ ಮಾಡಲಾಗಿದೆ ಬುಧವಾರ, ಅಕ್ಟೋಬರ್ 17, 2018
For those unaware, under the MeToo banner, Nishtha Jain posted her ordeal on Facebook where she accused Vinod Dua of not only passing lewd comments at her, but also verbally abusing her and stalking her when she resisted. She also criticized his daughter and comedienne Mallika Dua for her hypocritical stance, when her own father was allegedly guilty of such crimes.
It was June 1989. I still remember the day because it was my birthday. There was extended family at home and mom was…
Nishtha Jain ಅವರಿಂದ ಈ ದಿನದಂದು ಪೋಸ್ಟ್ ಮಾಡಲಾಗಿದೆ ಶನಿವಾರ, ಅಕ್ಟೋಬರ್ 13, 2018
But it was the response of The Wire to these allegations that not only exposed their hypocritical stance, but also forced Nishtha Jain to come out of her sabbatical from Facebook and go hammer and tongs against both The Wire and Vinod Dua. The Wire, in their response had indicated towards setting up an external committee that would seemingly address Nishtha Jain’s complaints and send a signal that The Wire is not silent on the charges, but actively working for the victims under the MeToo campaign.
However, the posts shared by Nishtha from her Facebook timeline say otherwise:
Vinod Dua has denied my allegations. The ICC at the Wire is looking into the allegations. This is a test for The Wire. Does it stand with #MeToo?
Nishtha Jain ಅವರಿಂದ ಈ ದಿನದಂದು ಪೋಸ್ಟ್ ಮಾಡಲಾಗಿದೆ ಭಾನುವಾರ, ಅಕ್ಟೋಬರ್ 14, 2018
There has been no reporting on The Wire about my allegations against their consulting editor Vinod Dua even after 24…
Nishtha Jain ಅವರಿಂದ ಈ ದಿನದಂದು ಪೋಸ್ಟ್ ಮಾಡಲಾಗಿದೆ ಭಾನುವಾರ, ಅಕ್ಟೋಬರ್ 14, 2018
The Wire has brought this out. They chose not to speak to me but quote me from other reports. Is this the way their ICC…
Nishtha Jain ಅವರಿಂದ ಈ ದಿನದಂದು ಪೋಸ್ಟ್ ಮಾಡಲಾಗಿದೆ ಭಾನುವಾರ, ಅಕ್ಟೋಬರ್ 14, 2018
I'm forced to return to Facebook as people pointed out this episode of Jan Gan Man Ki Baat which was aired this morning….
Nishtha Jain ಅವರಿಂದ ಈ ದಿನದಂದು ಪೋಸ್ಟ್ ಮಾಡಲಾಗಿದೆ ಬುಧವಾರ, ಅಕ್ಟೋಬರ್ 17, 2018
They have given me a time of 24 hours(!!!) to give my consent to the external committee and my complaint. This is to…
Nishtha Jain ಅವರಿಂದ ಈ ದಿನದಂದು ಪೋಸ್ಟ್ ಮಾಡಲಾಗಿದೆ ಬುಧವಾರ, ಅಕ್ಟೋಬರ್ 17, 2018
Not only is Vinod Dua shamelessly setting the terms for his clarification, he also shamed the victims of the MeToo movement, calling them as opportunistic and a part of the conspiracy to divert the attention from the ‘skyrocketing fuel prices’ and the ‘corruption on Rafale deal’, as circulated in his propaganda series ‘Jan Gan Man ki Baat’ . Trust someone to be this shameless on the grave allegations imposed against him.
What is worse, and worrying however, is the way The Wire allowed this person to shamelessly use their platform to mould the public opinion in his favor, apart from the victim shaming by Vinod Dua. No wonder why someone rightly said, ‘The only thing worse than a liar is the liar that is also a hypocrite’, and now it seems that Vinod Dua satisfies all the parameters of this quote.
Nishtha Jain just didn’t stop at that. She also exposed Vinod’s stance on this issue, where he gave The Wire a week to investigate the issue, and just one day to her to state her grievances! He even added, of all things, that forced kissing doesn’t amount to sexual harassment, as noted below:
Vinod Dua gives The Wire a week to investigate. He's setting the terms. Also he says that forced kissing doesn't constitute sexual harassment! It's just 'pareshani'. The man has outed himself!
Nishtha Jain ಅವರಿಂದ ಈ ದಿನದಂದು ಪೋಸ್ಟ್ ಮಾಡಲಾಗಿದೆ ಬುಧವಾರ, ಅಕ್ಟೋಬರ್ 17, 2018
Had this been said by M J Akbar, the same Vinod Dua and Mallika Dua would’ve brought the whole house down, howling and screeching on the audacity. Is there no limit to shamelessness Mr. Vinod Dua? This is no more a personal allegation, but a legal case, and such attitude resorts to mocking the legal process as well. Has Vinod Dua and The Wire considered themselves above law?
Exposing the hypocrisy of The Wire further, Nishtha shared the post of a fellow victim who exposed the attitude of The Wire to previous cases of the same nature, as noted below:
Nishtha Jain ಅವರಿಂದ ಈ ದಿನದಂದು ಪೋಸ್ಟ್ ಮಾಡಲಾಗಿದೆ ಬುಧವಾರ, ಅಕ್ಟೋಬರ್ 17, 2018
She also shared screenshots of how filmmaker Kamal Swaroop , who occasionally wrote for The Wire as well, shamed her on her allegations against Vinod Dua:
Kamal Swaroop has this to say.
Nishtha Jain ಅವರಿಂದ ಈ ದಿನದಂದು ಪೋಸ್ಟ್ ಮಾಡಲಾಗಿದೆ ಸೋಮವಾರ, ಅಕ್ಟೋಬರ್ 15, 2018
In this episode, we must salute Nishtha Jain for not bowing down to the victim shaming and standing resolute. We only wonder how long will Vinod Dua and The Wire continue with their shameless attitude. The time is up now.