Gonda (Uttar Pradesh): Seemingly unstirred by ongoing protest against him by the country's ace wrestlers, Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh, the chief of the Wrestling Federation of India (WFI) and a member of the BJP, Sunday turned poetic while revealing his plans for the 2024 Lok Sabha elections.
Addressing a rally in Gonda, Singh, in a defiant tone, said that he would contest the 2024 Lok Sabha election from Uttar Pradesh's Kaiserganj constituency. “Kaiserganj Lok Sabha se chunav ladunga, ladunga, ladunga (I will contest the Lok Sabha election from Kaiserganj),” Singh told the media after the rally, his first since top women wrestlers raised sexual harassment allegations against him.
The rally was organized as part of the BJP's 'Mahasampark Abhiyan' for the 2024 elections, marking nine years of the Modi government. While Singh did not react to the wrestlers' protest directly, he began his speech with an Urdu couplet expressing his feelings of being "misunderstood".
“Yeh mila mujhko muhabbat ka sila, bewafa kehke mera naam liya jata hai. Isko ruswai kahen ki shohrat apni, dabe hontho se mera naam liya jata hai (The reward I got for my love is that I am being called unfaithful. Call it fame or infamy, my name is being taken with pursed lips)," were the words with which the controversial politician began his speech.
Singh slammed Congress and said that Indian territory was occupied during Congress rule and that had PM Modi been in power then, he would have taken it back. Singh also heaped praises on PM Modi pointing out Article 370 abrogation and building of the Ram Temple in Ayodhya.
Earlier, Singh had postponed his Jan Chetna Maharally in Ayodhya, which was scheduled for June 5. He cited an ongoing police investigation into the sexual harassment allegations raised by seven female wrestlers, including a 'minor', whose father later on backtracked from the statement. On Sunday, Delhi Police asked the protesting wrestlers to provide photos, audio and video as evidence for their allegations against Singh.
Reacting to it, Rajya Sabha MP Kapil Sibal took a dig over the Delhi Police saying now victims should be ready to click on camera and have someone to record the assault they face. In a tweet, Sibal said, "Brij Bhushan investigation: Police wants video, audio, call recordings, WhatsApp chats as proof. Now victims should be ready to click on the camera and have someone ready to record the assault." "For that the assaults will have to take place after notice to victims!" he added.
The government had assured the protesting wrestlers that a charge sheet will be filed against the outgoing WFI chief by June 15, following which they had halted their protest.
Also read: Wrestlers' protest: Grappler was minor when assaulted, says referee Jagbir Singh
