Outgoing Wrestling Federation of India (WFI) chief Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh, who is facing sexual harassment charges levelled by female wrestlers, on Friday announced that his Jan Chetna Maha Rally slated for June 5 has been postponed. The rally was to be held in Uttar Pradesh's Ayodhya and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) MP had claimed that 11 lakh people would attend the programme. The announcement came as the Ayodhya district administration denied permission for the gathering while it is being said that Singh was also instructed by the senior BJP leadership to cancel the programme.
According to sources, the central BJP leadership instructed Brij Bhushan to avoid unnecessary statements pertaining to wrestlers' allegations and prohibited him to hold the proposed rally in Ayodhya on June 5. Brij Bhushan cancelled the rally on the instructions of the high command, sources said.
Circle Officer (Ayodhya) SP Gautam said the permission sought by BJP councillor Chamela Devi on behalf of Singh has been denied in view of other programmes scheduled on World Environment Day on June 5, news agency PTI reported.
Meanwhile, the WFI chief, in a Facebook post, said that he has postponed the 'Jan Chetna Maharally' at the Ram Katha Park for a few days due to the ongoing police probe.
"I have tried to unite people of all castes, communities and religions, both in power and in the opposition. It is for these reasons that my political opponents and their parties have levelled false allegations against me. In the present situation, some political parties are trying to disturb the social harmony by promoting provincialism, regionalism and caste conflict by holding rallies at various places," he wrote in a Hindi post.
"The purpose to hold a Sant Sammelan at Ayodhya on 5th June was to deliberate on the evil spreading in the entire society, but now that the police are investigating allegations, respecting the serious directions of the Supreme Court, the "Jan Chetna Maha rally, June 5, Ayodhya Chalo" program has been postponed for a few days," he added.
The Delhi Police has registered two FIRs against Brij Bushan Singh. The first FIR pertains to the allegations levelled by a minor and it has been lodged under the provisions of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act along with the sections of the Indian Penal Code concerning outraging modesty. The other FIR has been registered over complaints from women wrestlers pertaining to outraging modesty.
On Wednesday, the BJP MP said that he will hang himself even if a single allegation is proved against him.
"I am once again saying that if even if a single allegation is proved against me, I will hang myself," Singh said while addressing a programme at the Mahadeva auditorium in the Ramnagar area, as quoted by news agency.
"All the players are like my children. Until a few days ago, they used to call me the god of wrestling. When I took over as the wrestling federation chief, India was ranked 20th in the world. Today, after my hard work, India's name is included among the five best wrestling teams in the world. I have lived wrestling day and night. Five of the seven Olympic medals (in wrestling) came to India during my tenure. The allegations levelled against me are baseless," the outgoing WFI chief said.
Meanwhile, a unanimous decision will be taken at today's meeting of Khap panchayat in Haryana's Kurukshetra after Soram Sarv Khap panchayat on Thursday reserved its decision following the meeting in Muzaffarnagar on the wrestlers' protest.
The Khap Mahapanchayat meeting on Thursday decided that a delegation would meet President Droupadi Murmu to seek justice for wrestlers demanding action against the outgoing WFI chief.
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