#MeToo: 'Truth needs to be told loud and clear,' says Rahul Gandhi

Congress president Rahul Gandhi came out in support of India's burgeoning #MeToo movement on Friday. 

"It’s about time everyone learns to treat women with respect and dignity," he tweeted. 

"I’m glad the space for those who don't, is closing. The truth needs to be told loud and clear in order to bring about change," he added. 

Also read: Most Indian men don't see women as equals, says Rahul Gandhi

India's #MeToo movement began two weeks ago with the actress Tanushree Dutta accusing the actor Nana Patekar of sexual harassment. She said he had tried to touch her inappropriately. 

Since then the floodgates have opened and woman after woman in the (till now) media and entertainment industries have accused men of having sexually assaulted and harassed them. 

The list of men accused so far reads like a list of the rich and powerful. They include: the actor Alok Nath, the popular writer Chetan Bhagat, the Queen director Vikash Bahl, Suhel Seth, the director Subhash Ghai, the director Sajid Khan, the former Times of India and DNA editor Gautam Adhikhari, a number of other journalists, and Minister of State for External Affairs MJ Akbar. 

The names of a number of other men in a number of professions are expected to tumble out too. On Friday, Justice Gautam Patel of the Bombay High Court came out in support of the movement, saying the judiciary too was plagued with "rampant sexism and the culture of patriarchy".

So far, seven women have accused MJ Akbar of sexual assault and harassment from when he was a journalist and editor. Akbar, who is currently in Nigeria with a trade delegation, has not yet responded to the charges. 

Calls for his sacking however have grown louder and louder.