Manish Tewari & Priyanka Chaturvedi engage in Twitter feud over Tarun Tejpal's acquittal

A war of words ensued on Friday among former Congress colleagues - Manish Tewari and Priyanka Chaturvedi over Tehelka founder Tarun Tejpal and his acquittal from the 2013 rape case. The feud started when Tewari termed Tejpal a 'much-maligned, politically persecuted' friend while sharing Tejpal's introduction to George Orwell's Animal Farm. In response, Chaturvedi - now a Shiv Sena MP - called it 'sick mindset'. Tejpal has been acquitted by a Goa court in a 2013 rape case where had allegedly sexually assaulted a female colleague inside the elevator of a luxury hotel.

Manish Vs Priyanka twitter war on Tarun Tejpal

The two MPs took to Twitter to lash out at each other over their respective stance on Tarun Tejpal. While Tewari defended his praise for the ex-Tehelka editor-in-chief, citing that the Goa court tried and found him innocent, Chaturvedi questioned his praise for an alleged rapist by just reading a judgment. Several other women journalists and intellectuals too joined in condemning Tewari for his praise for Tejpal, but the Anandpur MP remained steadfast that he was entitled to his opinion as even the courts had found Tejpal innocent.

The social media war turned ugly when Tewari threatened to sue Chaturvedi for libel & defamation after she claimed that Tewari held no superiority on a moral level just because he could read a judgment as a lawyer. In response to Tewari's threat, Chaturvedi was surprised at his act to silence her, maintaining that she 'refuse to engage'. Incidentally, Shiv Sena and Congress are jointly in power in Maharashtra.

Tarun Tejpal's acquittal

On May 21, ex-Tehelka Editor-in-Chief Tarun Tejpal was acquitted in sexual assault case by the District and Sessions Court at Mapusa, Goa. . The Goa Police had booked him under IPC sections 341 (wrongful restraint), 342 (wrongful confinement), 354 (assault or criminal force with intent to outrage modesty), 354A (sexual harassment), 354B (assault or use of criminal force to woman with intent to disrobe), 376(2)(f) (person in position of authority over women, committing rape) and 376(2)k) (rape by person in position of control) for allegedly sexually assaulting  a female colleague inside the elevator of a luxury hotel in the state in 2013. While he was arrested thereafter, he has been out of bail since 2014. The state government has challenged his acquittal in the High Court.