Manas Dasgupta
NEW DELHI, Sept 7: Even as the BJP attempted to make light of the two Olympian wrestlers joining the Congress in poll-bound Haryana, the former Wrestling Federation of India (WFI) president Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh by his angry comments on Saturday justified the criticism by Bajrang Punia that “some people were happy” at the disqualification of Vinesh Phogat before the final match in the Paris Olympics when the entire country was praying for her success.
Claiming that the joining in the Congress by Punia and Phogat had proved that the agitation last year against him on sexual harassment charges was a “Congress scripted show,” Mr Singh, who was refused the BJP ticket this year to contest the Lok Sabha elections, claimed that Phogat had entered the Olympic arena through “cheating” and her disqualification on the eve of the final was “God’s punishment” to her.
Besides Mr Singh, the former Haryana home minister Anil Vij also could not hide his frustration over the development stating that he had nothing to comment if Phogat from “desh ki beti” want to become “Congress ki beti,” apparently hinting that anyone who joined a party other than the BJP seize to remain a “desh ki beti.”
Mr Singh accused Phogat of ‘cheating’ to attend the games and added that she could not win the tournament as the ‘god punished her.’ “I want to ask Vinesh Phogat whether a player can give trials in 2 weight categories in a day. Can the trials be stopped for 5 hours after the weigh-in? You did not win the wrestling, you went there by cheating. God has punished you for the same,” the former WFI President said.
The heated remark came a day after Phogat and Punia, who led the wrestlers’ protest against Brij Bhushan last year, entered politics by joining the Congress on Friday. While Phogat was fielded as the Congress candidate for the upcoming Haryana Assembly polls from Julana, Punia was appointed the working chairman of the All India Kisan Congress.
Stepping up the offensive, the BJP leader alleged that Bajrang Punia participated in the Asian Games without completing the trials. “Haryana is the crown of India in the field of sports. And they stopped the wrestling activities for almost 2.5 years. Is it not true that Bajrang went to the Asian Games without trials? I want to ask those who are experts in wrestling,” Bhushan said.
Mr Singh who had been found guilty on several charges of sexual harassment by the Delhi police, however, maintained that he was not guilty of ‘disrespecting daughters’ and added, “If anyone is guilty of disrespecting daughters, it is Bajrang and Vinesh. And the one who wrote the script of the agitation, Bhupinder Hooda, is responsible for that.”
He said their joining the Congress and contesting the Haryana elections was proof that the sexual harassment charges and the wrestlers’ protest were a conspiracy against him by the Congress. “When the protests began on 18 January, 2023, I had said on day one that it is not a protest by wrestlers and the Congress is behind it. Especially (Congress leader and former Haryana chief minister) Bhupinder Hooda, (his son and MP) Deepender Hooda and Priyanka and Rahul Gandhi. Now that has been proven true.”
“The protest and the conspiracy against me had the involvement of the Congress and it was led by Bhupinder Hooda. I want to tell the people of Haryana that Bhupinder Hooda, Deepender Hooda, Vinesh Phogat and Bajrang Punia did not protest for the respect of the girls… because of this, the daughters of Haryana are having to face shame. The Congress leaders and protesters are responsible for this. They used the daughters and hurt the respect of female wrestlers for political reasons. The script was written by the Congress,” he alleged.
In the wake of the allegations and the protests, the three-time BJP MP had been denied a ticket for the Lok Sabha polls from his seat of Kaisergant in Uttar Pradesh. His son, Karan Bhushan Singh, was fielded instead and had emerged victorious. Insisting that the allegations against him are false and he was not in Delhi on the days on which he was accused of sexually harassing wrestlers, Brij Bhushan Singh said that the court will give its ruling.
The President of the Wrestling Federation of India (WFI), Sanjay Singh, also broke his silence on Phogat and Punia joining the Congress and said it was bound to happen as the entire wrestlers’ protest took place at the behest of the Congress party and its leaders. “This was bound to happen. It is known to the whole country that this entire protest was happening at the behest of Congress and its mastermind was Deepender Hooda, the Hooda family. The foundation of this protest was laid on the day when our Prime Minister praised Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh, saying that wrestling is in safe hands,” Singh said.
“This entire conspiracy was also hatched because 4-5 wrestling medals were going to come in the Olympics. The protest also affected those medals. There was no wrestling activity for 2 years in the Olympic year, so due to that, we got fewer medals. Our wrestlers were not able to practice… Now these people are not going to have any impact on our wrestling association,” he added.
After joining the Congress on Friday, Ms Phogat had said when the wrestlers were “dragged on the roads” during the protests, every party had stood with them, except the BJP. “I want to thank the people of the country for supporting me during my wrestling career and I hope I live up to their expectations. I want to thank the Congress because, as they say, it is only when times are bad that one finds out who is standing with them. When we were dragged on the roads, every party other than the BJP stood with us and understood our pain and our tears… I am very proud to be associated with a party that stands up against misbehaviour and injustice against women,” she had said.
Congress leader Pawan Khera slammed the BJP on Saturday over Brij Bhushan Singh’s comments and said the saffron party takes a stand for those who do wrong and that the Congress raises its voice against the wrong. Mr Khera said, “Whoever does wrong, the BJP stands with them and they are with the BJP. Whoever is wronged, Congress fights for them and raises their voice and will raise it in the future too and that is why they also like Congress.”
“Six players had filed an FIR against Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh. Have you seen what sections he was accused of? How dare he speak like this? We are proud that we stood, are standing and will stand with our daughters,” Mr Khera added.
On Singh’s criticism that the wrestlers’ protest last year was politically motivated, Mr Khera said the party would never regret standing up for their daughters and that the Hooda family has done no wrong in raising their voice against the wrong. “We will never regret that we stood with our daughters; they should regret it… What has the Hooda family done wrong by raising their voice? This is what needs to be done. What is the point of politics if we don’t stand by them?” he added.