The wrestlers’ protest against Wrestling Federation of India (WFI) chief and BJP MP Brijbhushan Sharan Singh’s alleged sexual exploitation and intimidation of female grapplers continued for the second straight day at Jantar Mantar even as the Congress demanded a Supreme Court-monitored CBI probe into the charges.
The wrestlers, led by multiple World Championships medallist Vinesh Phogat, on Wednesday had initiated the protest against the alleged misdeeds of the WFI chief and some other coaches. Besides Vinesh, other wrestlers of national and international repute, including Olympic medallists Ravi Dahiya, Bajrang Punia and Sakshi Malik, are a part of the protest sit-in at Jantar Mantar.
Declaring that Narendra Modi’s slogan of ‘Beti Bachao’ sounded hollow against the series of scandals and atrocities against women involving BJP leaders, Congress spokesperson Deepender Hooda said: “The Wrestling Federation of India should be disbanded immediately. What message will it send if the central government fails to act firmly in such cases? How will the families send their girls into sports if their confidence is not restored? Barely a fortnight ago, the Haryana sports minister was accused of sexual exploitation.”
Jairam Ramesh, the Congress communications chief, demanded an answer from Prime Minister Narendra Modi as he said: “Mr Prime Minister, why are all those who oppress women are members of the BJP? You said that a better environment has been created for sports in the past eight years. Is this the ‘better environment’, in which even our daughters, who bring laurels to the country, are unsafe?
“Kuldeep Sengar, Chinmayanand, the father-son duo of Vinod Arya & PulkitArya... and now this new case. The list of BJP leaders committing atrocities against women is endless. Mr PM was ‘Beti Bachao’ a warning to save daughters from BJPleaders? India is waiting for an answer.”
The WFI chief, who is also a BJP Lok Sabha MP, has denied the charges made against him. Singh, however, is not new to controversies. A six-time MP, Singh wields a lot of power in the Gonda, Balrampur and Bahraich districts of east Uttar Pradesh. In 2021, a video of Singh slapping a young wrestler during the U-15 wrestling championship was widely circulated. Singh’selection affidavit of 2019 mentions a dozen criminal cases against his name.
The central government had tried to end the protest by sending Olympian Babita Phogat, also a member of the BJP, to mediate on Thursday morning. But the protesting group claimed they “have not got satisfactory response” from the government and stuck to their demands of removal of Singh as WFI president. “We will not quit till the federation chief is removed and he goes to jail. We have five-six girls with proof. If the government does not act, we will go to the police,” they threatened.
The WFI has called for an Emergency General Council in Ayodhya on Sunday to discuss the issue. For the record, Singh’s third term as WFI president is ending soon and he is ineligible to contest again asper the National Sports Code.
With inputs from Piyush Srivastava in Lucknow
