Days after Congress loyalist-turned-TMC member Saket Gokhale came under public scrutiny for misappropriation of funds, allegations of sexual misconduct have now surfaced, allegedly against him. Akashi Kaul, an ardent supporter of Gokhale, issued a statement on the misappropriation of funds by a “certain individual” and levelled allegations of sexual misconduct as well. While Kaul did not name ‘names’, netizens inferred that she had Gokhale in mind.
In a statement, Kaul said, “An erstwhile online acquaintance I was closely associated with is now in the eye of the online storm for possible and alleged misappropriation of funds raised for a social good and lack of transparency while demanding government transparency (the irony).”
“My association with them was an international, online one, and they came very highly recommended by everyone that is now realizing that they are scum. It was only on coming back to India, meeting them and hearing one too many (in that even one is too many and I would do well to remember that in the future) stories of sexual misconduct, including being allegedly fired from their position at a political party for the same, that I begun to realize my mistake in associating with them,” she added.
I’m not important enough to issue a statement but also, is this even a statement? But it needs to be said.#Transperancy #Accountability pic.twitter.com/GfGekWR50d
— Akashi (@akashikaul) January 2, 2022
Akashi Kaul admitted that she had prior knowledge of the allegations of sexual misconduct but was ‘slow’ in severing ties with the accused. She claimed, “I have since, made some noise about their sexual misconduct, in my capacity as a third party privy to private knowledge. However clearly, in our great country, outraging the modesty of a woman isn’t as the grave of a crime as misappropriation of funds is.”
She added, “In my personal opinion, I do not believe this person is an activist or a crusader for any cause. They are an opportunist, shunned by the political party they tried to get currency in and therefore going to the next available option, all in pursuit of a Rajya Sabha seat. They do not have the credentials or ability to run for an election at any level and their only claim to fame is a Kardashian-esque drama baiting game.”
Given her long-standing association with Saket Gokhale and her outrage following the fund embezzlement controversy, netizens were quick to point out that Kaul’s statement was in reference to the ongoing allegations against the RTI activist and TMC worker, Saket Gokhale. Social media users questioned her silence about Gokhale’s alleged sexual misconduct, despite being privy to the accusations. The fact that Akashi Kaul has not diverted the questions and not explicitly said that she is not talking about Saket Gokhale, it is safe to assume that it was indeed the TMC worker against whom these allegations have been made.
“Irony – You sarcastically say that in India misappropriation of funds is a bigger issue than outraging the modesty of woman but you yourself were quiet about the allegations of sexual misconduct and spoke only after misappropriation of funds issue came to light!” wrote one Twitter user. In her defence, Akashi Kaul claimed that she openly spoke about the allegations on Clubhouse for months.
Another user asked, “Haven’t you been a part of their/ his clubhouse repeatedly even after knowing about the sexual misconduct part?” Instead of directly responding to the question, Kaul stated, “No. Then again, I don’t need to justify my actions to anyone but those I’m answerable to. Please hold your elected representatives as accountable as you’re holding me.”
Twitter user, Opinion Bakery, pointed out, “This good lady was Saket Gokhale’s biggest champion on Clubhouse. Fascinating how she confesses to being aware of SG’s improper behaviour with women but chooses to speak up only now. That too in a mealy-mouthed manner without naming him directly. The “truth to power” gang”
This good lady was Saket Gokhale’s biggest champion on Clubhouse
— Opinion Bakery (@IndiaSpeaksPR) January 2, 2022
Fascinating how she confesses to being aware of SG’s improper behaviour with women but chooses to speak up only now. That too in a mealy mouthed manner without naming him directly
The “truth to power” gang pic.twitter.com/sCzwXJm9sC
Another Twitter user stated how Kaul’s claims could be inferred as ‘politically motivated’ since the latter only spoke about it after starting to hate Gokhale’s politics. “If you raise the alarm about a person being a sexual predator only when you no longer like someone’s politics, you put the victim and other women at risk. You also give him the chance to claim it is politically motivated,” the user said.
If you raise the alarm about a person being a sexual predator only when you no longer like someone’s politics, you put the victim and other women at risk. You also give him the chance to claim it is politically motivated. https://t.co/fjZAyMNL4N
— Nayanika (@nayanikaaa) January 2, 2022
It must be mentioned that Akashi Kaul had once hosted a Clubhouse room and named it “Sanghiyon ka Safai Abhiyaan.” During the discussion, she targeted several women and even labelled Opindia Editor Nupur J Sharma as ‘tramp’. Kaul has been the subject of fierce criticism on Twitter for remaining silent despite knowing about the sexual misconduct by her confidante.
On Sunday (December 2), political analyst Abhijit Iyer Mitra tweeted, “Looks like the women of the left are finally beginning to acknowledge the multiple instances of serious misconduct by Saket Gokhale. I hope they find the courage to talk about it publicly and not hide their experiences because he belongs to the same ideological spectrum.”
.2 Major & serious allegations of not just misconduct, but “outraging of modesty” by Saket Gokhale. Anyone who knows Akashi from clubhouse would know she was close to him. There are several ladies alleging this as can be seen from two separate ladies. pic.twitter.com/dhPBBd7r29
— Abhijit Iyer-Mitra (@Iyervval) January 2, 2022
“Major & serious allegations of not just misconduct, but “outraging of modesty” by Saket Gokhale. Anyone who knows Akashi from clubhouse would know she was close to him. There are several ladies alleging this as can be seen from two separate ladies,” he added.
From the tweets of Abhijit, it is evident that he is hinting that allegations against Saket Gokhale were doing the rounds for a long time, just that, the friends of Saket have managed to speak up only after the financial scam allegations gathered steam.
Accusations of fund embezzlement, misuse of public money in procurement of drugs
In February 2021, allegations of fraud were made against Gokhale by several people, including left liberals. An AAP supporter named Amit Behere had accused Gokhale of wasting money by filing RTIs, which have had absolutely “zero return on investment”.
He had alleged that the donations to the Congress loyalist had obtained no results for the common public, except for personal benefit. In 2020, Gokhale had claimed to have collected over ₹ 22 lakhs to take on the ‘BJP hate machine’ and launched a ‘campaign to take down hate-speech mongers’ on social media.
In March 2021, a complaint was lodged with the Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) against Saket Gokhale by the Legal activist group Legal Rights Observatory (LRO), accusing him of earning drug money through the means of crowdfunding. According to LRO, Saket Gokhale is the son of a former police officer, who was once accused in a drug trafficking case.
On Thursday (December 30, 2021), poet and writer Hussain Haidry raised the issue, demanding accountability from Saket Gokhale on the utilisation of funds collected through fundraising campaigns. He has demanded that Saket Gokhale give the details of how he spent the money he raised through fundraising campaigns.
He said that hundreds and thousands of people, especially Muslims, have donated to Gokhale in the last 2-3 years in small amounts, but no stupendous work has been done by him. Haidry received widespread support on Twitter demanding answers from Saket Gokhale.
It is interesting to note that Saket Gokhale himself had said that he is a full-time activist, and therefore the amount collected helps pay his expenses. He had also claimed that he ropes in more people, and their expenses are also paid from the donation money.
Note: There are wide speculations about the person mentioned in Akashi Kaul’s statement being Saket Gokhale given that she issued the statement in the light of allegations of misappropriation of funds surfacing against Saket Gokhale. Even Abhijit Iyer Mitra had hinted that the allegations of sexual harassment were floating for a long time. However, to be sure, we reached out to Saket Gokhale. He has not responded to the allegations so far. If and when he does, this article will be updated with his statement.
