Karan Thapar counters Anant Dehadrai's molestation allegation against Tharoor

An accusation aimed at tarnishing the public reputations of senior journalist Karan Thapar and Congress leader Shashi Tharoor, made by Jai Anant Dehadrai, the former live-in partner of the TMC leader and Supreme Court lawyer, has prompted Thapar to clarify Dehadrai’s misinterpretation of his responses and to deny the allegations against Tharoor.

Dehadrai, the former live-in partner of TMC leader Mahua Moitra, who later sided with the BJP in a campaign against her after their separation, alleged that Thapar shielded Tharoor in a case of molestation involving Tharoor and a woman in 2022, while also labelling Thapar as a 'twisted and corrupt monster'.

Thapar, known for his distinguished career in journalism, denied Dehadrai's accusations. He clarified that the woman involved in the incident, whose identity remains undisclosed by both parties, had refuted the allegations against Tharoor. Thapar condemned Dehadrai's claims as an "attempt to malign" Tharoor, particularly during a time when Tharoor was vying for the position of Congress party president.

Dehadrai, who previously played a prominent role in the campaign against Trinamool Congress leader Mahua Moitra alongside the BJP, contributed to her expulsion from Parliament. It is believed that the BJP sought her removal from parliament due to the uncomfortable questions she posed to the Modi government regarding its ties with the Adani Group.

In a tweet on X (Former Twitter), Dehadrai labelled Thapar as a "twisted and corrupt monster," alleging that Thapar had prioritized protecting Tharoor over supporting the victim of the purported molestation incident.

The allegations stem from an incident purportedly occurring on October 11th, 2022, the details of which have not been fully disclosed. Dehadrai's tweet included a screenshot of Thapar's October 2022 post, adding fuel to the controversy.

This exchange has sparked widespread debate and scrutiny, with many questioning the credibility of the accusations and the motives behind Dehadrai's attack on Thapar. Opposition leaders and observers have also drawn connections to the broader political landscape, suggesting potential ulterior motives behind the timing and nature of the allegations.

Read Thapar’s full statement below.

A text message I sent Jai Dehadrai sometime in October 2022 is being circulated by him in an attempt to distort and misconstrue its content and meaning. Let me, therefore, clarify.

At the time Shashi Tharoor was contesting for the Presidentship of the Congress Party and Jai Dehadrai, in an attempt to malign Shashi and as some sort of vendetta against him, sent me one or more messages alleging misbehaviour on Shashi’s part with several unnamed women. One of them is the person whose name has been redacted in the text message he is circulating. I know her extremely well and contacted her on receiving this message and she flatly denied the allegations it makes.

I then tried to contact Jai Dehadrai on the phone to tell him to stop this attempt to malign Shashi. As he would not answer I sent him the text message which has been, in a redacted form, made public.

If Jai Dehadrai had released the full unredacted text message everything would have been clear.

My intention was simple and obvious. To stop Jai Dehadrai maligning Shashi and also damaging the reputation of the lady whose name has been redacted. That is clear from the text even though it is redacted.

The claim that I was “protecting dirty Shashi” is nonsense because he needs no protection and I don’t believe he is in any way dirty. But, yes, I was protecting the lady whose name has been redacted.

If Jai Dehadrai is an honourable man he should make public the full text I sent him without the redactions and also the message(s) which he sent me which prompted my response. I also wonder why he’s chosen to make this redacted version public in the middle of the 2024 elections?