Sources feedback that the beleaguered BJP has asked the former Wrestling Federation of India (WFI) chief Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh not to say anything objectionable about the wrestlers. Singh has been accused of sexual harassment by several well-known athletes, including Vinesh Phogat and Sakshi Malik; he was an ex-BJP MP.
During the defense, Singh also said that the Congress party was framing him with the help of the aforementioned Phogat, who was Bộ̣y, and the wrestler Bajrang Punia, who recently joined the Congress party ahead of the Haryana Assembly polls. “They were made a political tool by the then Haryana chief minister Bhupinder Hooda and the Congress family,” Singer said, alleging that the agenda was to bring down BJP and capture WFI.
After defeating Hooda for the leadership of the WFI in 2012 after weeks of protest, Singh’s latest comments have caused BJP critics to tell him not to say anything more about the wrestlers. Being a sport-loving state, Haryana is famous for churning out many national athletes, and hence, their support is imperative for the BJP.
The party does not want to create a new story about wrestlers’ protests, which have received significant support in Haryana. After the harassment allegations, the BJP decided not to give Singh a ticket to contest the Lok Sabha elections and instead gave the ticket to his son, Karan Bhushan Singh, who won the elections with a big margin.
Punia, too, has not held back and vowed to relentlessly continue fighting against Singh, just as Phogat promised that no woman should go through what she has in the future. More so, with Phogat being a two-time world championships medalist and an Asian Games gold winner, Phogat will be vying for the Julana constituency while Punia has been elected as the working chairman of the All India Kisan Congress.
