The political life and controversies of WFI chief Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh

Top Indian wrestlers continue to protest against Wrestling Federation of India chief Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh. Friday saw the under-fire WFI chief and BJP MP refer to the protest by the country’s top grapplers as the “dharna of Shaheen Bagh” and insist that he would not step down. This came as wrestlers reached out to the Indian Olympic Association (IOA) to demand an inquiry committee be formed and a day after big names including Olympic medallists Bajrang Punia, Ravi Dahiya, Sakshi Malik, and world championship medallist Vinesh Phogat meet with sports minister Anurag Thakur. But what do we know about Singh’s political career? And what allegations have been made against him? Let’s take a closer look: Singh has been holding the WFI president’s post since 2011 – to which he was most recently elected unopposed in 2019. Singh, 66, is the BJP MP from Uttar Pradesh’s Kaiserganj. According to India Today, the six-time MP previously represented Gonda, and Balrampur constituencies. Hailing from Vishnoharpur of Uttar Pradesh’s Gonda district, Singh was a wrestler during his youth, as per IANS. He also participated in student politics at Ayodhya’s Saket College. As per Financial Express, Singh first entered politics through the Ram Janmabhoomi movement. He gained political fame in 1991 after defeating Congress leader Anand Singh, a former mentor, in the Lok Sabha election. Singh in the 90s was charged under TADA for sheltering Dawood Ibrahim henchman Subhash Thakur and Jayendra Thakur and Paresh Desai but was later acquitted. In 1998, Singh lost from Gonda when Anand Singh’s son Kirtivardhan Singh, now himself a BJP MP, defeated him as a Samajwadi Party nominee. As per India Today, Singh was elected to the Lok Sabha in 1999, 2004, 2009, 2014, and 2019. His 2009 re-election to the 15th Lok Sabha from Kaiserganj came after he joined the Samajwadi Party in July 2008. He returned to the BJP in 2014 after ‘not being inspired by the SP ideology’, an aide told Indian Express. Called ‘dabang’ and ‘shaktishali’, Singh has influence in half a dozen districts surrounding Gonda. According to Indian Express, Singh’s birthday celebrations are the subject of much discussion. Every year on 8 January Singh gives away motorcycles, scooters, and money to students shortlisted through exams. The event was attended by Union Minister of State for Finance Pankaj Chaudhary this. As per Financial Express, Singh’s sphere of influence and his winning ways have kept him in the good books of the BJP despite having tiffs with leaders including Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, whom he criticised during the floods. Leaders in the party chalk up Singh’s popularity at the polls to his work for the needy and his involvement with more than 50 institutes of learning that he helped set up in Bahraich, Gonda, Balrampur, Ayodhya, and Shrawasti districts. “He has developed an empire in these districts through his clout. He gives a fee waiver to those students who are unable to pay. So, if he wins elections, it is both because of his clout and goodwill,” a BJP leader from Gonda told Indian Express. But leaders also told the newspaper the party keeps him at a remove. Singh in May warned Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) chief Raj Thackeray against visiting Ayodhya unless he ‘tendered a public apology for humiliating north Indians’. Singh recently hit the headlines for slapping a wrestler in Ranchi. His son Prateek Bhushan Singh is a BJP MLA from Gonda and his wife Ketki Singh was also an MP when he was in jail under TADA in 1996. Legal issues Singh was an accused in the controversial Babri Mosque case, which was felled by ‘kar sevaks’ in Ayodhya on 6 December, 1992. According to a 2019 election affidavit, Singh has four cases pending against him including an attempt to murder charge, dacoity, and rioting. What are the charges against Singh? Singh has been accused of sexually harassing female wrestlers, mental torture, non-payment of sponsorship money, and coaches not being selected on the basis of merit. The Asian Games and Commonwealth Games gold medallist broke down while speaking to reporters on Wednesday, as more than 30 wrestlers, including Olympic medallists Sakshi Malik and Bajrang Punia, staged a protest at the Jantar Mantar. Vinesh said she was subjected to mental harassment by Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh, adding that she had even contemplated suicide. Singh, responding to the charges, was quoted as saying by PTI, “There is no truth in any of the allegations. Why should I quit? Even if one woman wrestler comes and proves the sexual harassment charge, I am ready to be hanged. There is an industrialist behind it (conspiracy). There can be an investigation by the CBI or police. There is no dictatorship. These same wrestlers had met me a week back and did not say anything.” On Thursday morning, Geeta Phogat and Babita Phogat tweeted their support to the protesting wrestlers who have demanded the removal of the WFI president. With inputs from agencies