'Congress, Bajrang Punia Plotting Against Me. Have Proof': Brij Bhushan Singh On Wrestlers' Protest

Singh, a BJP MP, said that Tokyo Olympics bronze medalist wrestler Bajrang Punia was also involved in the plot against him.

WFI Chief Brij Bhushan Singh.

Source : PTI

Wrestling Federation of India chief Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh, who is facing sexual harassment allegations and a protest by a group of top wrestlers, on Sunday claimed that Congress leader Deepender Hooda plotted a conspiracy against him and praised SP chief Akhilesh Yadav for not siding with the agitators. Singh, a BJP MP, said that Tokyo Olympics bronze medalist wrestler Bajrang Punia was also involved in the plot against him, news agency PTI reported.

The WFI president is in the crosshairs after grapplers accused him of sexual harassment and requested his arrest and dismissal from the Wrestling Federation of India. Several political parties, including the Congress and the AAP, have backed the wrestlers.

Singh, who has remained firm in his refusal to resign, said he was willing to retire if it meant that the demonstrators would return home. 

"If they go back and sleep peacefully after my resignation, I am ready to do so," he was quoted by PTI in its report.

Speaking with reporters, Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh alleged that "this whole conspiracy was hatched by Congress leader Deepender Hooda and wrestler Bajrang Punia. We have an audio (clip) to prove this. When the time comes, it will be handed over to the Delhi Police."

Whole conspiracy hatched by Cong leader Deepender Hooda, wrestler Bajrang Punia; We have an audio clip to prove this, will give it to Delhi Police when time comes: WFI chief Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh over wrestlers' protest

— Press Trust of India (@PTI_News) April 30, 2023

Referring to political leaders' visits to the wrestlers' protest location at Delhi's Jantar Mantar, Singh Stated: "The fight has now gone out of the hands of the players. Political parties have entered into this. I could see the signs from day one."

"I want to thank the leader of the Samajwadi Party Akhilesh Yadav (for not siding with the protesting wrestlers). I know him since his childhood. I am elder to him. Though there are political differences between us, Akhilesh knows the truth," Singh informed PTI. 

"If there are 10,000 wrestlers in Uttar Pradesh, 8,000 of them are from the Yadav community and belong to the Samajwadi family. Hence they know the truth," he said.

On Friday, the Delhi Police filed two FIRs against Singh in response to claims of sexual harassment made by seven female wrestlers. The second FIR dealt with outraging modesty, but the first one was about claims against a young wrestler and was filed under the POCSO Act.

The Kaiserganj BJP MP continued by saying that the demonstrators are nothing more than "toys" in the hands of the opposition. "All these players have become toys in the hands of the Congress and other opposition parties. Their motive is political and not my resignation," Singh said.

The president of the WFI questioned why the railway board did not intervene to prevent wrestlers connected to the railroads from staging a sit-in protest at Delhi's Jantar Mantar.

"It is their right to protest. But, can a player associated with the railways sit on a protest like this where objectionable slogans are being raised against Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath," he asked. 

Responding to a query, BJP MP stated: "Don't drag the party (BJP) into this. These allegations are levelled against me as the president of the Wrestling Federation of India and not as a BJP MP."

"I have to prove my innocence... If the party asks me to resign, I will do so immediately."

(With Inputs From PTI)