MNS Chief Raj Thackeray Bats for “Indecent” Nana Patekar In #MeToo

“I know Nana Patekar. He is an indecent man. He does crazy things, but I don’t believe he did this,” Thackeray said.

(Photo: Altered by The Quint)

Speaking on the sidelines of an event in Amravati, Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) chief Raj Thackeray on Thursday, 18 October, said though actor Nana Patekar was “indecent”, he believed the latter was innocent in the Tanushree Dutta case.

“I know Nana, he is an indecent man. He does crazy things. But I don’t think he can do such a thing. Court will look into it. What is the media to do with it? #MeToo is a serious matter, the debate over it on Twitter isn’t right.”

Actor Tanushree Dutta had lodged an FIR with the Mumbai police earlier last week, alleging harassment by Nana Patekare on the sets of a 2008 movie “Horn Ok Pleassss”.

Stating that Dutta had filed her complaint ten years after the incident had happened, Thackeray said that while women could approach the MNS in instance of any oppression, they should not do so “after ten years.”

“If anything like #MeToo happens, women can come to MNS. We will teach a lesson to accused. Women must raise the voice when they face oppression, not after 10 years," the MNS chief said.

According to ANI, Thackeray also alleged that the heightened coverage of the #MeToo movement was being done in a bid to shift focus from issues such as “fuel prices, rupee value and unemployment.”

Incidentally, the #MeToo movement spread like wildfire following Dutta’s acknowledgment of the 2008 incident involving Patekar, prompting scores of women to come out with their stories of harassment by men in power.