New Delhi, Oct 16 (IANS): The Congress on Monday asked Prime Minister Narendra Modi to clarify whether he supports the criminal defamation case filed by his Minister M.J. Akbar against a woman journalist who accused Akbar of sexually harassing her.

The party dared Modi to come clear on which side he stands -- with the victims in the #MeToo campaign or with the accused.

"We would like to ask the Prime Minister on which side does he stand. These are women who have come out and with the harrowing experiences that they have gone through. They are all women and not connected to each other," Congress spokesman R.P.N. Singh said.

"We would like to ask the Prime Minister: does he support that the defamation case? He has to make his stand absolutely clear," he added.

Akbar on Monday filed a criminal defamation case against journalist Priya Ramani, one of the several women who have accused him of sexually harassing them in the capacity of Editor at different publications.

The Congress leader said that the Prime Minister has not "uttered a word" in cases such as that of a Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) MLA being accused of raping a woman in Uttar Pradesh or the Bihar shelter home case.

"We ask the PM today, that he has to speak up. Where does he stand on these matters?" Singh said.