'Took My Name Because...': Congress' Deepender Hooda On Conspiracy Charges By Brij Bhushan Singh

Wrestlers' Protest: Speaking exclusively to ABP News, Deepender Hooda said Brij Bhushan was facing more than 40 cases and questioned why the government was protecting him.

Congress leader Deepender Singh Hooda with wrestlers Vinesh Phogat and Sakshi Malik during their protest at Jantar Mantar

Source : PTI

A day after embattled Wrestling Federation of India chief Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh accused him of hatching a conspiracy, Congress leader Deepender Hooda said the BJP leader took his name as he was firmly supporting the "daughters" who levelled sexual harassment charges against him.

Speaking exclusively to ABP News, Deepender Hooda said Brij Bhushan was facing more than 40 cases and questioned why the government was protecting him.

"The wrestlers have levelled serious allegations against Brij Bhushan. He will have to face the truth. The matter should not be seen through the prism of caste," he said.

READ | 'Shilajit Ki Roti Khata Tha Roz?' WFI Chief Brij Bhushan On Charges That He Sexually Assaulted '1,000 Children'

On Sunday, while interacting with reporters at his residence in Bishnoharpur, Singh alleged that Hooda and Tokyo Olympics bronze medallist grappler Bajrang Punia hatched the conspiracy against him. The BJP MP also claimed that "a big industrialist is responsible for the conspiracy against me".

"We have an audio (clip) to prove this. When the time comes, it will be handed over to the Delhi Police," Singh had said.

Singh also claimed that the women who have levelled allegations against him belonged to the same "akhada" led by Deepender Hooda.

"90 per cent of the athletes and their guardians from Haryana trust the Wrestling Federation of India. A few families and the girls who have levelled allegations belonged to the same 'akhada'...The patron of that 'akhada' is Deepender Hooda," the WFI chief had said.

Responding to the charges, Hooda told ABP News that Singh "took my name because I am firmly with the daughters". 

"If the wrestlers of Haryana are bringing 60 per cent medals of the country, then it is not our fault," Hooda further said.

O Sunday, Brij Bhushan said the protests by the wrestlers at Delhi's Jantar Mantar has taken a political colour. "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," he had said.

The Delhi Police has registered two FIRs against Singh on allegations of sexual harassment levelled by seven women wrestlers. While the first FIR pertained to allegations of a minor wrestler and was registered under the POCSO Act, the second was related to outraging modesty.