BJP MP from Kaiserganj Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh, 65, finds himself at the centre of sexual harassment allegations by India’s most-decorated women wrestlers, Vinesh Phogat and Sakshi Malik. On Wednesday, Phogat and Malik staged a dharna at Jantar Mantar in New Delhi and addressed the media on behalf of the women wrestlers allegedly exploited by the BJP MP.
Phogat, the country’s only double World Championship medallist, said, “Women wrestlers have been sexually harassed at national camps by coaches and also the WFI president Brij Bhushan Sharan.”
Sharing the dais with Vinesh and endorsing the allegations, Malik said, “We have just come to save them. We are fighting for them. When the time comes, we will speak up. We will give the names of those who have been exploited to whoever is doing the probe.”
Wrestlers Sakshi Malik, Vinesh Phogat and Bajran Punia at a protest against the Wrestling Federation in New Delhi on Wednesday. (Express photo by Praveen Khanna)
Following the accusations, Singh told the media: “Is anyone saying that the WFI has sexually harassed a wrestler? Only Vinesh has said it. Has anyone come forward and said that they personally have been sexually harassed? Even if one wrestler comes forward and says that she has been sexually harassed, that day I can be hanged.”
Wrestler to BJP MP
Singh calls himself “shaktishali” and has spent much of his youth in the akhadas of Ayodhya. He has has been the president of the Wrestling Federation of India (WFI) for almost 10 years and vice-president of the United World Wrestling-Asia.
Even in his role as a politician, there’s nothing that excites Singh more than a good roll in the mud.
A six-term MP – five as BJP member and once, in 2009, as the SP candidate – Singh has represented Gonda and Balrampur in the past, and now Kaiserganj. His son Prateek Bhushan is a two-time MLA from Gonda Sadar.
Hailing from Gonda, Singh has been vocal about his Hindutva politics and was associated with the Ram Janmabhoomi movement. According to his 2019 election affidavit, Singh was named in the Babri demolition case.
In 2009, he flirted briefly with the SP, only to return to the BJP. “He was never a Samajwadi and the ideology didn’t inspire him, so returned to the BJP,” said a party leader close to Singh.
Singh has had his share of public bouts as wrestling federation chief.
Considered to be a hands-on administrator, with the last word on all things wrestling, he is a constant sight at tournaments, be it national or international, senior or junior. With a microphone in his hand, Singh oversees bouts and often shouts out instructions to referees, stops and starts bouts and, at times, even throws the rule book at the judges.
In January 2021, during the national championships in Noida, he suspended a Railways coach for being ‘too animated’ on the sidelines. He even demanded that the referees penalise a wrestler from Delhi because his supporters entered the field of play. It led to an impasse: the referees argued there was no provision for a penalty like this, but Singh kept on insisting. Ultimately, however, he relented.
Singh’s iron-fisted style has been par for the course at wrestling meets. On rare occasions when he isn’t present physically at a tournament, he monitors the proceedings virtually. During a women’s national championship in Agra in 2021, he had told this paper: “In March 2020, we had our national championships in Himachal Pradesh and I couldn’t go there. So, we installed cameras everywhere so I could see everything from my house in New Delhi.”
The players are acutely aware of Singh’s influence. So, at times, when they lose a controversial bout, they tend to lodge an appeal directly with him instead of approaching the judges – like former CWG medalist Narsingh Yadav did during the national championships last year.
One of the common sights at nationals is of players seeking Singh’s blessings by touching his feet.
“These are all strong men and women,” had said in the 2021 interview, referring to the wrestlers. “To control them, you need someone stronger. Is there anyone stronger here than me?”
To wrestle more control, Singh, after the Tokyo Olympics last year, demanded a bigger say in the planning for the Paris Games in 2024. He said the federation will keep a check on private, not-for-profit organisations that support the wrestlers and even came down heavily on the government for dealing directly with athletes under its flagship Target Olympic Podium Scheme.
Subsequently, in December 2021, he was made a member of the government’s Mission Olympic Cell, which monitors and plans the preparations for the Olympics.
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