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| Wrestlers protest against sexual harassment in India: 'If no action is taken, these girls will come back again |
Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh, a Member of Parliament of India's ruling Bharatiya Janata Party, has been elected several times from Uttar Pradesh. He is considered an influential politician in eastern Uttar Pradesh and a pillar of the BJP in the state. He is also the president of the Wrestling Federation of India.
Women Olympian wrestlers accused Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh of sexual harassment and have been protesting for days.
On Wednesday, Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh challenged the accusing women wrestlers in a public meeting near Lucknow saying, "Those who accuse me. Throwing medals into the Ganga will not get me hanged. If you have any evidence, go and give it to the police.'
He further said that if even a single charge against me is proven, I will be hanged myself. I still stand by this promise.
A news agency believed to be pro-government has reported from Delhi Police sources that the police have found no evidence against Brij Bhushan in their investigation and may close the case. However, the police later issued a statement. issued a complete denial of the news and said that the investigation is still ongoing.
At Jantar Mantar, a short distance from Parliament in Delhi, wrestler girls had been on a sit-in for over a month in protest against the non-arrest of Brij Bhushan. Among them were big players like Sakshi Malik, Vinesh Phogat, and Bajrang Punia.
She was forcibly removed by the police when she was about to march to Parliament on May 28, the day of the inauguration of the new Parliament. The police have ordered that they can no longer hold sit-ins at Jantar Mantar.
These women athletes had announced throwing their international medals into the river Ganga in protest, but a prominent farmer leader, Naresh Takkit, stopped them at the last minute by extinguishing their understanding.
He supported the protesting players and said that the whole country will not tolerate the way our daughters were treated at Jantar Mantar. The way they were forcibly taken from there, the whole country is outraged.
It should be noted that these women players were forced to sit on a sit-in when no report was filed against Brij Bhushan despite filing a sexual harassment complaint with the police. Then, after the intervention of the Supreme Court, the police registered a case and started their investigation.
The players are demanding that Brij Bhushan should be arrested in the same way as other people are arrested in the case of sexual harassment.
"This case has humiliated not only the players but all women."
The allegations of sexual harassment leveled by several athletes against Indian Wrestling Federation President Brij Bhushan are of a serious nature. Apparently, one of the players is a minor, but it is also true that the accused cannot be declared guilty simply by making allegations before the investigation is completed.
An important aspect is that even the government and the government-sponsored women's commission did not raise any voice after the sit-in of women wrestlers. On the other hand, Mamata Banerjee, Arvind Kejriwal, Priyanka Gandhi, and top opposition leaders not only supported these girls but many of them went to Jantar Mantar and spent some time with them during the sit-in and assured their support.
Some leaders of the ruling party termed the allegations of sexual harassment as 'political'. Statements against female players are being posted on social media. Some relatives of the minor player are also telling on TV and social media that he is an adult.
On the other hand, many people are trying to know what is so special about Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh that the government is trying to save him.
Brinda Karat, the leader of the Marxist Communist Party, said that after the registration of the FIR, there is no fixed period of investigation, so where will these girls go? This is a very wrong message being given regarding the protection of girls. It will prove to be very harmful.
Many sportspersons also expressed their displeasure over the police's treatment of Olympic medal-winning female wrestlers. Anil Kumble, the former star bowler of the Indian cricket team, has said that it was very sad to see the oppression of our wrestlers by the police on May 28. Any problem can be solved through dialogue. We hope to resolve this issue as soon as possible.
But the matter is dragging on and the Pehlwan girls have given five days to the government.
The country's well-known intellectual Mrinal Pandey wrote in an article that "this case has humiliated not only the players but all the women but now there is no going back from here." This series is not going to last long. I am sure that these exceptionally strong and accomplished wrestler girls will soon rise above the ashes of humiliation and move forward.
Meanwhile, the International Olympic Committee said in a statement that the way the athletes were treated on Saturday is very painful. The committee hopes that the sexual harassment case will be investigated impartially.
The World Wrestling Federation has also threatened to suspend the membership of the Indian Wrestling Federation over this issue.
"If no action is taken, these girls will come back."
Senior analyst Nirav Bhatia says that the government has handled the issue badly and made a mistake.
The government should understand that these girls did not make such allegations. They are not fighting for themselves, they are fighting for other sports girls by putting their brilliant career at stake. The government has definitely made a mistake in this.
Some Twitter users compared the situation to the Nirbhaya rape incident during Manmohan Singh's tenure, in which his reputation was badly affected by the government's laxity.
Nirav Bhatia says the government thought it was a court case and it would end there or die like the farmers' movement, but it didn't.
The girls have given Hakut five days to take action against Brij Bhushan. The government may try to find a way out during this time, but if no steps are taken, these girls will come back again.
Niru says that the government's reputation is being damaged not only among the people of India but also in the whole world due to this incident. In any other country, if an athlete makes an allegation of sexual harassment, the government takes it seriously and takes timely action, but here there is no response.