Gonda: Facing allegations of sexual harassment by several women wrestlers, BJP MP from UP’s Kaiserganj and benched Wrestling Federation of India (WFI) president Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh turned poetic Sunday as he addressed public in his constituency.
In a speech peppered with Urdu shayari and couplets from the Ramayana, but no mention of the controversy he is embroiled in, the MP chose to read out a poem referring to himself as a wronged man, at a rally marking the beginning of BJP’s mega outreach campaign in Gonda for the Lok Sabha polls.
“Ashq, gham aur kabhi zeher piya jata hai, tab kabhi jaake zaamane mein jiya jata hai,
Yeh mila mujhko mohabbat ka sila, bewafaa keh ke mera naam liya jata hai,
Isko rusvaayi kahen ya shohrat apni, dabe honthon se mera naam liya jata hai
(You have to swallow tears, grief and poison to survive in this world,
This is the reward of my love, I am being called unfaithful,
Should I call it disgrace or my popularity, my name is taken with pursed lips…”)
Brij Bhushan’s rally is being seen as a show of strength after he cancelled the much publicised 5 June rally in Ayodhya citing security concerns. Beginning his speech with “Jai Shree Ram”, he exhorted BJP workers to work for the elections next year, crediting them for the party’s performance in the 2014 and 2019 Lok Sabha elections.
He also said that he will contest the 2024 polls from Kaiserganj.
The BJP leader went on to launch a tirade against the Congress for events of the past, and held former PMs, including Jawaharlal Nehru, Indira Gandhi and Rajiv Gandhi, responsible for the same. “Pakistan resorted to guerilla warfare and even today, 78,000 square kilometres of our land is under their occupation. This happened when Pandit Nehru was the PM,” he said.
“In 1962, China attacked us and even today, 33,000 square kms of our land is under the possession of China, this too happened under Congress time,” he added.
He further claimed: “In 1971, when 92,000 Pakistani soldiers were taken as prisoners by our army, we had a chance that time…if it was a strong Bharat, Modi-wala Bharat, the issue of Pakistan occupied territory would have been resolved before returning the soldiers just like that.”
An accused in the first Babri Masjid demolition FIR lodged against kar sewaks in 1992 under IPC sections of rioting, provocation with intent to cause riot, promoting enmity, etc, Brij Bhushan cited the construction of the Ram Temple in Ayodhya as one of the central government’s achievements.
Brij Bhushan has denied all sexual harassment allegations against him. Two First Information Reports (FIR) were lodged against him in Delhi on 28 April, on the complaints of seven wrestlers, including a minor. One of the FIRs was lodged under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act.
Last week, the father of a minor wrestler recorded a fresh statement, in which he retracted the charge of sexual harassment brought against Brij Bhushan.
Most of the party workers ThePrint spoke to at the rally said they had been told by BJP leaders that the MP was being framed.
Also read: Ahead of 2024 LS polls, why BJP has picked Sunil Bansal to be its point person in UP once again
‘Ram’s will’
However, his concluding remarks before an audience which barely had 40 women — mostly party workers — among a 10,000-strong crowd, betrayed he was not confident of what the future held.
“Hoiye sohin jo Ram rachi rakha,
Ko kari tark badhaave saakha (Ultimately, whatever happens is the will of Lord Ram, why indulge in arguments and strain oneself?),” he wrapped up.
Most women workers at the rally that ThePrint spoke to, said they liked PM Narendra Modi and CM Yogi Adityanath. Some of them said local BJP unit leaders had told them at meetings that Brij Bhushan was being framed because of politics.
“Netaji is being framed. Our girls also go to his colleges. There has been no allegation so far. We have not come across such an incident,” said Neelam, a member of the BJP’s mahila morcha who came from a village in Bhauriganj.
Khalida, who accompanied Neelam, was more direct. “I attended a meeting of the local unit where we were told that there was politics behind this issue. That meeting was held soon after the January protest (by wrestlers). We were informed that all of this (allegations of sexual harassment) was false. They promised admission of my children in one of his schools,” she said.
(Edited by Smriti Sinha)
Also read: When UP’s Brij Bhushan ‘helped’ BJP clinch Goa in 2017, despite Congress winning more seats