The Bharatiya Janata Party’s decision to field Karan Bhushan Singh, the son of controversial former Wrestling Federation of India (WFI) president Brij Bhushan Singh, from UP’s Kaiserganj constituency has been slammed by wrestlers.
Wrestlers protested against the ex-WFI president in Delhi last year over the alleged sexual harassment of female wrestlers.
A case was registered against Brij Bhushan by the Delhi Police in June 2023 under sections 354, 354D and 345A of the Indian Penal Code for stalking and sexual harassment. Delhi’s Rouse Avenue Court is hearing the case. The next hearing will take place on May 7.
‘A loss for India’s daughters’
In a post on X, Rio Olympics bronze medallist, Sakshee Malikkh said: “Desh ki betiyan haar gyi! (India’s daughters have lost today). All of us have put our careers at stake, spent days on the street and Brij Bhushan has still not been arrested.”
“We demanded justice. Now his son has got a ticket from Kaiserganj. This has broken the spirits of crores of Indian daughters. The ticket is still with the family. I want to ask why is the government so weak in front of him?” she asked. Malikkh quit the sport last year after Brij Bhushan’s close aide Sanjay Singh won the WFI elections.
Her mother Sudesh said Karan Bhushan’s selection shows that no one really cares about the women wrestlers. “My daughter quit wrestling in protest against Brij Bhushan. Bajrang Punia and Vinesh Phogat too returned their medals. All those actions have come to naught,” she said.
Jitender Kumar, a former 74-kg freestyle wrestler, called the BJP’s decision a “stab in the back” and asked the government: “Is this why we slept on the streets or what we fought for?”
“This is country’s misfortune. The BJP calls itself the biggest political party of the world, but still it chose Brij Bhushan’s son from over lakhs of workers. The son of the man who sexually exploited women wrestlers is honoured with an election ticket,” said Tokyo Olympics bronze medallist, Bajrang Punia.
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