New Delhi: Wrestling Federation of India (WFI) chief Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh on Friday, January 20, termed the protest by the country’s top wrestlers “dharna of Shaheen Bagh” and reiterated that he won’t quit from the post.
He also termed the protest in Delhi’s Jantar Mantar an attack on the Bharatiya Janata Party, orchestrated by the Congress party.
On Friday night, Union sports minister Anurag Thakur announced that Singh has been asked to step aside and will be probed by an oversight committee, which will have four weeks to complete the inquiry.
Thereafter, the wrestlers decided to call off their protest, which began on Wednesday, January 18. Bajrang Punia said, “We are calling off the protest as the government and the sports minister have promised us justice.”
However, on January 21, NDTV reported him as saying: “If I make a statement, there will be a tsunami. I am not here on anyone’s charity. I am an elected representative.” Singh is a sixth-time Lok Sabha MP from Uttar Pradesh’s Kaisarganj constituency.
“There is no question of resigning. I have not spoken with the prime minister’s office and home minister,” he said.
The sports minister cautioned him against making any statement to media over the worry that it will exacerbate tensions.
But no official statement has been issued on Singh’s resignation as of yet.
According to news agency Press Trust of India, the agitating wrestlers reached out to the Indian Olympic Association (IOA), demanding formation of an enquiry committee to probe the allegations of sexual harassment against Singh.
In a statement, the IOA said that following its executive committee meeting, it was decided to form a committee in “accordance with the prevention of sexual harassment of women act of 2013” that would hear both sides and submit its report at the earliest.
The seven-member IOA panel will include noted athletes Mary Kom, Dola Banerjee, Alaknanda Ashok, Yogeshwar Dutt and Sahdev Yadav.
NDTV reported that the wrestlers have also sent a letter to P.T. Usha, head of the Indian Olympic body, seeking action against Singh.
“Vinesh Phogat was mentally harassed and tortured by the WFI chief after she missed out on an Olympic medal in Tokyo. She almost contemplated suicide,” the athletes wrote in their letter to Usha, adding that “they fear for their lives”.
They wrote: “It has taken a lot of courage for us wrestlers to come together and protest against the WFI president. We fear for our lives. If he is not sacked then the careers of all the young who joined the dharna will be over.”
The global body, United World Wrestling, too, has reacted to the protest. In an email to The Indian Express, UWW’s communications director Gordon Templeman said: “UWW has learned with great concern via the media about these serious allegations. We will closely follow the cases and will take any necessary measures that are warranted by the outcome of the investigations. We have contacted the federation, as well as made efforts to contact athletes directly to better understand the situation.”