Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh has denied the allegations against him. (File)
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Facing allegations of sexually harassing women wrestlers, BJP MP and outgoing WFI chief Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh said on Sunday that he will contest the 2024 Lok Sabha elections again from the Kaisarganj seat.
Speaking at a rally in the Balpur area of Gonda in Uttar Pradesh on the completion of nine years of Narendra Modi’s reign, Singh skipped any direct reference to the wrestlers’ protest for his arrest, opting instead to focus the congress on the Emergency, Ram Temple, the 1984 anti-Sikhs riots and other issues.
The MP began his 23-minute speech with an Urdu couplet, “Kabhi ask, kabhi gumh, to kabhi zeher piya jata hai… tab ja kar zamane mein jiya jata hai. Yeh mila mujhko muhabbat ka silla, bewafa kehke mera nam liya jata hai Isko ruswai kahen ki shohrat apni, dabe hontho se mera name liya jata hai (Sometimes one has to take a lot of sorrow and poison to live in this world… This is the reward I got for my love, they call me unfaithful Should I call it fame or fame, they take my name with pursed lips).”
When asked whether he will contest the 2024 Lok Sabha elections from Gonda or Ayodhya, Singh told reporters, “Kaiserganj Lok Sabha se chunav ladunga, ladunga, ladunga (I will definitely contest from Kaiserganj).” On why he did not comment on the wrestlers’ protest and what he was waiting for, the BJP MP said, “Court ke faisle ka (court ruling).”
Singh has remained defiant despite possible action by the Delhi Police, which has taken statements from more than 200 people in connection with the case against him and will file charges by June 15.
On Saturday, the protesting wrestlers claimed he used his influence to pressure victims of sexual harassment and force them to change their statements. They also threatened to resume their agitation if decisive action against the MP was not taken by June 15.
Singh has denied the allegations against him and has alleged that some Haryana congress leaders hatched a conspiracy to defame him over the reforms he introduced as chief of the Wrestling Federation of India (WFI).
Speaking at the rally, he also said that no power in the world can stop the BJP from returning to power in 2024.
Singh attacked the Congress saying, “In 1947, the country was divided when the Congress was in power. The wounds of the partition were not even healed when Pakistan attacked and captured 78,000 square kilometers of our country while the Congress was in power. .”
“In 1962, when the Congress was in power, China attacked (us) and captured 33,000 square kilometers of our country. In 1971 (India-Pakistan War), an unprecedented 92,000 (Pakistani) soldiers were made prisoners of war by the Indian Army Yet then Prime Minister Indira Gandhi released them without settling the old score,” the WFI president said.
“If there had been a prime minister like (Narendra) Modi in the country then, the country that was conquered would have been liberated,” he said.
Singh also attacked Congress for introducing a state of emergency in the country in 1975.
Praising Prime Minister Modi and Home Minister Amit Shah, the BJP leader said: “Earlier we used to say ‘Jahaan Balidaan (Syama Prasad) Mookerjee Huye, Woh Kashmir Hamara Hai’ (the Kashmir where Syama Prasad Mookerjee achieved martyrdom, is ours). We proudly reiterate this today, and it was made possible thanks to Narendra Modi and Amit Shah.”
Apparently referring to former Congress leader Kapil Sibal’s 2017 pitch for delaying hearing of the Ayodhya title case until after the 2019 general election, Singh said: come on time. It caused the Supreme Court to work even in the middle of the night to save a convicted terrorist from the death penalty.”
He also referred to the Congress demanding proof of the Indian Army’s surgical strikes on terror camps following attacks in Uri and Pulwama and questioning the anti-COVID vaccine manufactured by scientists in India.
Mohan Yadav, higher education minister of Madhya Pradesh, said: “The twin-engine government of Narendra Modi and Yogi Adityanath is working very well. Whoever did wrong has been reduced to dust.”
Mr. Yadav also called the Agnipath plan a “milestone in the development of the country”, saying, “After completing the service period of the Agnipath plan, our youths can become doctors, engineers and officers, and the discipline that instilled during training will help them move forward.”
He also listed the achievements of Prime Minister Modi’s nine-year reign. “When Modiji was the chief minister of Gujarat, he was denied a visa to the US. But now every president wants to meet him. Not only the US, but every country wants to have a good relationship with India.”
Amidst the wrestlers’ protest, Brij Bhushan Singh had requested permission from the Ayodhya district administration to hold a meeting on 5 June, but it was denied.
However, the MP had said he had postponed the ‘Jan Chetna Maharally’ at Ram Katha Park for ‘a few days’ due to the ongoing police investigation into the wrestlers’ allegations against him.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NewsMadura staff and is being published from a syndicated feed.)
