During the spate of #MeToo accounts, the editor-in-chief of The New Indian Express, GS Vasu, had also been accused by five women, who had accused him of sexual misconduct. However, as Vasu continues to retain his position, a senior editor with the organisation has resigned from his post stating that he had ‘lost all the respect’ he had for Vasu.
The Assistant Resident Editor (ARE) of the Telangana bureau quit the organisation on November 20 through an email addressed to Vasu. “When your name surfaced in the MeToo campaign, I, like everyone else, was surprised. Though some of the women who worked with TNIE earlier, often used to discuss, though in hush-hush tones, about your stares which made them uncomfortable, I never imagined that you would be accused of going as far as trying to touch women colleagues or do whatever they accused you of,” the email read.
I received this last night and I couldn’t help but be overwhelmed with the courage and integrity shown here.
Vikram Sharma resigned from TNIE in HYD because his boss GS Vasu was named as a harasser. #metooIndia #metoo pic.twitter.com/TBkEwW1tsh
— Sandhya Menon (@TheRestlessQuil) December 5, 2018
Vikram’s email was released by journalist Sandhya Menon, who was among the woman pioneering the #MeToo movement. “But that being so, when you took the ‘help’ of a woman colleague in Hyderabad office to post something in your support and she did, I lost all the respect I had for you. She told many in office, including me, that she posted and deleted it on your request,” the email stated.
Vikram, in his email, accused the organisation of double standards and stated that despite going up in arms against corrupt bureaucrats or those accused of misconduct, it seemed that they’ve been continuing “to work under you as if nothing has happened”. Vikram has also alleged that Vasu has also interfered in editorial decisions and published false stories in favour of the Telangana Rashtra Samiti (TRS).
The News Minute reported that the Internal Complaints Committee of TNIE has begun hearing the charges of inappropriate touching and misconduct. The news portal also reports that the Hyderabad bureau was taken aback by the senior editor’s decision to quit.
