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Kashi group supports Sanjay Singh for WFI chief, demands free election to post
The delegation submitted a memorandum of their demand addressed to Prime Minister Narendra Modi to his public relations office, also known as his parliamentary office in Varanasi
Some Varanasi residents have demanded that elections for the post of Wrestling Federation of India president, should be conducted in a fair manner, alleging that some people were conspiring to stop Sanjay Singh from contesting election for the post.
The delegation led by Dr Manoj Srivastava submitted a memorandum of their demand addressed to Prime Minister Narendra Modi at his public relations office, also known as his parliamentary office in Varanasi.
In memorandum, they said, “Some people are hatching a conspiracy to stop Sanjay Singh from reaching the top post of WFI. Sanjay Singh, the candidate for the post of president of WFI, belongs to Kashi. He grew up here. He completed his education from BHU and is credited with starting women’s wrestling in Kashi in 2008,” they said.
“The conspirators who are conspiring against Sanjay Singh want to stop him. We condemn this ill-advised attempt. We, the people of Kashi, including players, intellectuals, doctors, social workers, are standing unitedly with Sanjay Singh, the son of Kashi,” they said.
Rajeev Kumar Singh Ranu, senior vice-president, Varanasi Kushti Sangh said, “We will take legal action against those who levelled false allegations against Varanasi district Kushti Sangh president Sanjay Singh. He is known for promoting wrestling at every level.”
Ranu added that he bears the expenses of many budding wrestlers.
Dr Shipra Dhar, Dr Idu Singh, Dr Sandeep Rai, Amar Bahadur Singh, advocate Awadhesh Kumar Singh, advocate Amit Kumar Singh and several others were part of the delegation.
Meanwhile, Sanjay Singh said he was mulling legal action against Tokyo Olympics bronze medallist Bajrang Punia, who has said that women wrestlers won’t feel safe if Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh’s people win the WFI polls.
“Punia and a few wrestlers are trying to set a wrong narrative against me as they want things to happen according to their wishes.
“For sure, I will be discussing the issue with my lawyers to take legal action against Bajrang Punia as it’s not an allegation against me alone, but the people of Varanasi as they have been known for their quality education and upbringing,” said Singh, a law graduate from Banaras Hindu University.
Terming Punia’s comment as a conspiracy with the involvement of some foreign coaches, Singh said that he is not an accused in any court of law and has got a clean image. Dragging his name without any reason by the Olympian was a wrong thing to do.
“It’s an international conspiracy as some foreign coaches too are involved in this to keep the right people away from the WFI as some wrestlers want to run the sport as per their own wish,” Sanjay Singh said.
“Punia’s allegation is also an affront to the dignity of women wrestlers across the country,” said Singh, a businessman from eastern Uttar Pradesh.
“I am a positive man and always think for the betterment of athletes. If I get elected as WFI chief, I will try to improve the system so that our wrestlers can win more medals in the Olympics. If people don’t want me to get elected, they should stand against me. In a democratic setup, one gets power through elections and leveling such unwanted charges against me will not help the opportunists. If you don’t like me, it’s your problem,” he said.
Early this week, Punia told a section of the media that those close to Brij Bhushan are in the fray for the elections. “If Sanjay Kumar Singh wins, it will be the same as Brij Bhushan winning the elections. The government had promised that those close to Brij Bhushan and his family wouldn’t contest. But that doesn’t seem to be the case now,” he was quoted as saying.
Sanjay Singh was in a two-way contest for the post of WFI president with Anita Sheoran, a police officer from Haryana, being his rival for the top job. Anita, the 2010 Commonwealth Games gold medallist wrestler, is also one of the witnesses in the sexual harassment case against Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh.
