Junior foreign minister M.J. Akbar, who is in the middle of sexual harassment allegations made by women journalists on social media, has said all the accusations were false, without evidence and he would take appropriate legal action.

Akbar, a celebrated editor before he became a minister in the BJP-led government, returned to India on the morning of October 14 from a foreign trip to waiting cameras and questions.

His statement tried to link the timing of the allegations to the approaching general elections. He also picked at the allegations of journalists Priya Ramani, who outed him first on Twitter, and Ghazala Wahab, who came out with a detailed account of alleged sexual predation by Akbar.

“The allegations of misconduct made against me are false and fabricated, spiced up by innuendo and malice,” the minister’s statement read.

“Accusation without evidence has become a viral fever among some sections. Whatever be the case, now that I have returned, my lawyers will look into these wild and baseless allegations in order to decide our future course of legal action,” he wrote.

About Ramani’s allegation he wrote: “Ms Priya Ramani began this campaign a year ago with a magazine article. She did not however name me as she knew it was an incorrect story. When asked recently why she had not named me, she replied in a tweet: “Never named him because he didn’t ‘do’ anything.” If I didn’t do anything, where and what is the story? There is no story. This was admitted at the very inception.”

Akbar also attempted to demolish Ghazala’s statement, saying: “Another accusation was made repeatedly by Ms Ghazala Wahab, in an effort to damage my reputation. She claimed that she had been molested in office, 21 years ago. This is16 years before I entered public life, and when I was in media.”

He said he had worked with Ghazala in The Asian Age and he occupied a tiny cubicle. “A part of the editorial team then worked out of a small hall. At the time concerned, I had a very tiny cubicle, patched together by plywood and glass. Others had tables and chairs two feet way. It is utterly bizarre to believe that anything could have happened in that tiny space, and, moreover, that no one else in the vicinity would come to know, in the midst of a working day. These allegations are false, motivated and baseless,” he said.

He said that “Ms Wahab states that she complained to Ms Veenu Sandal, who wrote features for the paper. Ms Sandal has described Ms Wahab’s version as nonsense, in an interview to The Indian Express. Ms Sandal has also said that she never heard, in 20 years, anybody accusing me of such a thing,” Akbar wrote.

He pointed out that “Ms Ramani and Ms Wahab kept working with me after these alleged incidents”. This, Akbar said, clearly established that they had “no apprehension and discomfort”. He said the reason why they stayed silent all these years was “very apparent”.

“As Ms Ramani has herself stated, I never did anything,” the one-time editor wrote.

He questioned why this storm had risen now, “months before the general election”. “Is there an agenda?” he asked. “You be the judge.”

In conclusion Akbar wrote: “Lies do not have legs, but they do contain poison, which can be whipped into a frenzy. This is deeply distressing. As indicated above, I will take appropriate legal action.”