Lucknow: Under scrutiny following allegations of sexual harassment, Wrestling Federation of India (WFI) president Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh lost his cool Monday while questioning the allegations brought against him by some of the country’s top women grapplers.
“Seedhe charitra haran ka prayaas kiya gya hai, pehle kehte the 100 bacchon ke sath hua, ab kehte hain 1,000 bacchon ke sath hua…kya main shilajit ki rotiya khata tha roz? (It is a direct attempt to malign my character. Earlier, they claimed that the harassment happened with 100 children now they are saying 1,000. Was I eating ‘rotis‘ made of Shilajit (an aphrodisiac)?” Singh told a news channel.
Two FIRs, including one under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act, have been filed against Singh following the Supreme Court’s intervention. In a related development, the six-time MP has confirmed that he will not contest for the WFI president’s post.
At the interview, the WFI chief was also questioned whether he was being “saved by the BJP-led government” to ensure that the party does not lose the Rajput votebank in the Hindi belt given his standing as a leader from the community.
“I am not a leader of Rajputs, but a leader of the poor. And leave Hindus, most of my supporters are Muslims. Vote is a different issue and politics is another. You come to my door and you will find people from every caste, religion. The poor and the rich will get the same treatment. I am not a leader of Thakurs,” the BJP MP from Kaiserganj in Uttar Pradesh asserted.
“Rahe na…usme dikkat kya hai? (So, let it be. What’s the problem if I have that image?” Singh said, when prodded further.
“I have not done anything wrong…neither will I do anything that harms the party, the country or the society. I will shield myself from any such act (sexual harassment)…at least I have that much of sense. I would not like the people restrict me to a particular caste…that I am a leader of the Rajputs,” Singh claimed.
On Sunday, the BJP strongman had indirectly hinted at a conspiracy hatched by Congress Rajya Sabha MP Deepender Hooda when he said that a particular family was levelling allegations against him and that all the women wrestlers speaking out against him belong to a particular ‘akhara’ (wrestling ring).
“90 per cent youngsters and guardians of Haryana believe and trust in the Wrestling Federation of India. This is one family and all the girls who have come out and levelled allegations (of sexual harassment against him), they belong to only one akhara. Yesterday, Bajrang Punia had asked how I got to know that they belonged to the same akhara. Not me, but the entire world knows that all girls belong to Mahadev Wrestling Academy,” he had said.
(Edited by Tony Rai)