Shiv Sena (UBT) MP Priyanka Chaturvedi has slammed Wrestling Federation of India chief and BJP MP Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh's latest claim that he had only hugged a female wrestler as a father figure, describing it as “sick and disgusting”.
In a news channel interview, a clip of which Chaturvedi retweeted, Singh can be heard saying, “The woman wrestler desired to communicate with her father, but lacking a mobile phone, I offered mine for her to use and connected her with him. After talking, I hugged her. When she felt uncomfortable, I told her that I am hugging her like a father.”
Reacting sharply to his comments, Chaturvedi tweeted, “Sick and disgusting. Taking advantage of the powerful position he is in to exploit a wrestler who came to seek his help. No you don’t give ANY WOMAN A HUG WITHOUT HER CONSENT AND THEN JUSTIFY IT AS A FATHERLY HUG.”
The Rajya Sabha MP hit out at the Bharatiya Janata Party of defending the WFI president. “Shame on BJP for continuing to defend this person. Bigger shame that the WCD Minister is still shamelessly silent,” Chaturvedi tweeted.
{{/usCountry}}The Rajya Sabha MP hit out at the Bharatiya Janata Party of defending the WFI president. “Shame on BJP for continuing to defend this person. Bigger shame that the WCD Minister is still shamelessly silent,” Chaturvedi tweeted.
{{/usCountry}}India's top wrestlers, including Bajrang Punia, Sakshi Malik and Vinesh Phogat, have been protesting and demanding action against Singh over sexual harassment charges made against him by some female grapplers in Delhi's Jantar Mantar. They are also demanding that the findings of a committee formed to probe their allegations be made public and Singh removed from his post pending investigation.
Also Read: Protesting wrestlers slam apathy of ‘politicians’ Usha, Mary
Meanwhile, Vinesh Phogat, the biggest face of the wrestlers' protest, on Tuesday alleged that complaints related to sexual harassment have been hushed up in the past by the WFI and sports minister Anurag Thakur did the same by forming an oversight panel instead of taking concrete action.
Vinesh claimed that twice in the past sexual harassment cases were reported during the national camp but the WFI succeeded in sweeping the matter under the carpet.
The World Championship medallist said the complainants had shared their ordeal in a meeting with the sports minister but he did not do anything except for constituting an oversight panel.
The wrestlers had called off their protest in January after getting assurances from the government that the matter would be probed, and a five-member panel was formed to look into the allegations of sexual harassment against Singh.
Malik said the motive behind the protest, as being projected, was not to seek exemptions from trials. She claimed she was asked to appear in a trial abroad when she had already won a trial in India. Another girl, in 2012, was asked to reappear in a trial within 24 hours of winning.
(With inputs from PTI)