Politics play out as more wrestlers join in to protest against serious allegations of sexual misconduct against Brijbhushan Saran Singh, President of Wrestling Federation of India. Shiv Sena MP Priyanka Chaturvedi today led the attack against the ruling government over delay in action.
“It’s a shame that women wrestlers who have spoken up about the harassment they faced yet the sport minister hasn’t yet sacked the WFI president. What investigation can happen with the man accused still incharge?” the Sena MP tweeted.
Chaturvedi also hit out at the Women and Child Development (WCD) minister Smriti Irani for her silence in the matter. “Government failing women consistently, the WCD minister is silent, as always,” she tweeted.
The Sena leader also raised concerns over the lack of action by the Union sports minister and National Commission for Women and tweeted, “NCW has taken suo moto action in many instances earlier but here they waiting for women wrestlers to complain first. Amazing double standards.”
The National Commission for Women Chairperson Rekha Sharma said that the NCW has not received a single complaint from any of those wrestlers who are staging protests. “If anybody lodges a complaint with us, we immediately conduct a probe & take action, Rekha Sharma told ANI earlier.
Celebrated Indian wrestlers, including Olympic medallists Bajrang Punia and Sakshi Malik and world championship medallist Vinesh Phogat, have been staging a sit-in protest at the Jantar Mantar in the national capital for the last two days against the Wrestling Federation of India president and Bharatiya Janata Party MP Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh, accusing him of sexual exploitation and intimidation.
Meanwhile, Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh is scheduled to address a press conference later today. He has maintained that he is innocent and said even if one girl came forward saying she was sexually harassed I will hang myself.
On Thursday, some of the protesting wrestlers met Union Sports Minister Anurag Thakur, but the meeting remained inconclusive as they refused to back down from their demand that the government immediately disband WFI.
The ministry cannot force Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh to resign unless it receives a written reply from the WFI since the government itself has asked the wrestling body for an explanation.
The WFI is yet to respond to the Sports Ministry, which on Wednesday gave the wrestling body 72 hours to respond to allegations of sexual harassment of several woman athletes and intimidation by its president.
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