Amid the wrestlers’ protest at Jantar Mantar, the Bharatiya Janata Party MP and president of the Wrestling Federation of India Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh has come forward in his own defence. He said that the charges against him are levelled by only a small group of wrestlers linked to a Congress leader, and the majority of the wrestlers in the country support him. He also faulted the wrestlers protesting against him for not going to the police and holding protests at Jantar Mantar in Delhi instead.
“90% of the athletes & guardians of Haryana trust the Wrestling Federation of India. A few families & the girls who have levelled allegations belonged to the same Mahadev Wrestling Academy. The patron of the academy is Deepender Singh Hooda,” Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh stated while talking to the media. Deepender Singh Hooda is a Congress leader and currently a member of Rajya Sabha.
“They are also attacking Prime Minister Narendra Modi. The individuals speaking against him and those present around are railway employees. It should be investigated,” he remarked.
He asked the wrestlers to approach the police and the court and assured that he will respect the decision of the court. “You don’t get justice from Jantar Mantar. If you want justice, you have to go to the police, court. They never did that until now. All they did was hurl abuses. We will accept whatever the court decides,” the WFI president said.
“Akhilesh Yadav knows the truth. We know each other since childhood. 80% of the wrestlers in Uttar Pradesh belong to families with Samajwadi Party ideology. They call me ‘Netaji’. They know how their Netaji is,” he responded when questioned about SP chief Akhilesh Yadav’s absence from Jantar Mantar even when several opposition leaders including Priyanka Vadra Gandhi and Arvind Kejriwal visited there.
#WATCH | WFI chief Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh says, "90% of the athletes & guardians of Haryana trust the Wrestling Federation of India. A few families & the girls who have levelled allegations belonged to the same 'akhada'…The patron of that 'akhada' is Deepender Hooda."… pic.twitter.com/NqzrLvghqi
— ANI (@ANI) April 30, 2023
In a recent interview, Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh said, “I am content with the decision of the honourable court. The wrestlers have been raising their demands for so many days and they were protesting for the same. They went to the court and the court also took cognizance. The Supreme Court has ordered that an FIR should be registered and the matter be investigated. I am totally content with the decision. I will cooperate in the investigation wherever necessary.”
“Their demand changes every now and then. You should consider the agitation right from the beginning. At that time they demanded that the WFI president should resign. After that, they brought up the issue of sexual harassment. After that, they demanded that the government should conduct an inquiry,” he continued.
The WFI supremo further commented, “The government formed two committees. the inquiry was completed. They did not wait for the report of the probe by the committees and started a sit-in protest on some other issue. Then they reached the Supreme Court. If they will be satisfied just with my resignation, I will send it to you, and show the resignation to them.”
“Even if I resign, they will say that he is not favouring anybody by resigning, as anyways his term was already over. You tell them to start their practice and stop this protest, I send my resignation to you. If you are asking me to resign, I can resign, but not as a criminal,” he emphasised.
Anti-Modi slogans including “Modi Teri Kabar Khudegi, Aaj Nahi To Kal Khudegi” (Modi you will be buried, tomorrow if not today) were recently heard at the protesting event in the presence of several wrestlers including Bajrang Punia, Sakshi Malik, Vinesh Phogat, Sangeeta Phogat.
Wrestlers react to 'anti-PM' slogans raised amid protest at Jantar Mantar
— TIMES NOW (@TimesNow) April 28, 2023
People would've raised slogans since they're angry over the disrespect shown to us women: @sangeeta_phogat tells @tejshreethought
Nobody can dig anyone's grave: @Phogat_Vinesh adds.@PadmajaJoshi pic.twitter.com/kvWzQmto7c
Several top wrestlers including Sakshi Malik, Bajrang Punia, and Vinesh Phogat, returned to Delhi’s Jantar Mantar on April 23 after their initial protest in January, to demonstrate against WFI head Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh.
Olympic champion Neeraj Chopra and former Indian cricket captain Kapil Dev have come forward in support of the wrestlers, whereas, Indian Olympic Association (IOA) president and former track and field athlete, PT Usha slammed them. “Indian Olympic Association is having a committee for sexual harassment, instead of going to the streets they (protesting wrestlers) could have come to us earlier but they didn’t come to IOA. It isn’t good for sports not only for wrestlers. They should also have some discipline,” she voiced.
Yogeshwar Dutt, a former wrestler who served on a standing committee that first looked into the allegations asserted that without a complaint, police cannot take any action. He added that the wrestlers need to have brought up the issue sooner.
#WATCH | Yogeshwar Dutt, Olympic medallist wrestler & a member of the committee that probed the allegations of sexual harassment of wrestlers says, "…Police will take action only when you report it to them. They won't do it if one sits at home. Wrestlers should have done it 3… pic.twitter.com/oYTjEemkI5
— ANI (@ANI) April 30, 2023
The Delhi Police filed two FIR on Friday night in relation to the allegations that named the six-time member of parliament as an offender, hours after the Supreme Court heard the matter.
The IOA had established a seven-person committee headed by M C Mary Kom to probe the accusations before the wrestlers made the decision to withdraw their protest. Vinod Tomar, the Wrestling Federation’s Additional Secretary, had also been suspended by the Union Sports Ministry.
