As Vinesh Phogat and Bajrang Punia join Congress, Brij Bhushan and the new WFI leader allege that the wrestlers’ protest was politically motivated

Former wrestling leader Brij Bhushan Singh has launched a scathing attack on wrestlers Vinesh Phogat and Bajrang Punia after they joined the Congress.

Singh, who has been the subject of allegations of sexual harassment by wrestlers, accused Vinesh and Bajrang of quitting wrestling for over two years.

“Haryana is the jewel in the crown of India in terms of sports. And they stopped wrestling activities for almost 2.5 years. Isn’t it true that Bajrang went to the Asian Games without any trials? I want to ask those who are experts in wrestling. I want to ask Vinesh Phogat whether a player can give trials in 2 weight categories in one day? Can the trials be stopped 5 hours after weigh-in?… You didn’t win wrestling, you went there by cheating. God has punished you for that,” Singh was quoted as saying by news agency ANI.

Wrestlers Vinesh Phogat and Bajrang Punia, who were among the central figures in the wrestling protest against alleged sexual exploitation and harassment by then WFI chief and former BJP MP Brij Bhushan Singh, joined the Congress on Friday.

Later in the day, the Congress released the list of 31 candidates for the Haryana elections. The list included Vinesh Phogat as the party candidate from Julana constituency.

Singh further claimed that he was “not guilty of disrespecting daughters”.

“If anyone is guilty of disrespecting daughters, it is Bajrang and Vinesh. And the one who wrote the script, Bhupinder Hooda, is responsible for it. If they (BJP) ask me (to campaign in the Haryana elections), then I can go. One day, the Congress will regret it…”, he said.

Wrestling Federation of India (WFI) president Sanjay Singh attacked the Congress after Phogat and Punia joined the party.

“This had to happen. The entire country knows that this entire protest was at the behest of the Congress and Deepender Hooda, the Hooda family, was the mastermind behind it. The foundation of this protest was laid on the day our Prime Minister Brij Bhushan praised Sharan Singh and said that wrestling is in safe hands,” Sanjay Singh said.

“This whole conspiracy was also hatched because there were going to be 4-5 wrestling medals in the Olympics. The protest also affected those medals. There was no wrestling activity for 2 years in the Olympic year, so because of that we got less medals. Our wrestlers could not train… Now these people are not going to have any impact on our wrestling association,” he added.

Also read: Haryana Assembly elections: Congress fields wrestler Vinesh Phogat from Julana constituency