September 08, 2024

Parivarvad Does Not Apply To Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh, The Wrestlers Be Damned

By Sunil Garodia
First publised on 2024-05-07 13:35:10

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Editor-in-Chief of indiacommentary.com. Current Affairs analyst and political commentator.

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A party which is against dynasties and parivarvad and believes in giving samman to women goes weak at its knees when the issue is about a person who wields immense clout in an area. The BJP has treated Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh with kid gloves right from the beginning of the episode when charges of molestation were levelled against him by medal-winning wrestlers. This shows that the party is afraid of his clout and does not want to antagonize him. Now, the party has bowed before him once again and although it has dropped him from Kaiserganj, the ticket has been given to his son Karan Bhushan Singh. Karan is also the chief of UP wrestling federation. Singh's wife, too, was an MP from Gonda while his elder son is an MLA in UP. There is nothing wrong in encouraging parivarvad in one's own backyard, is it?

The BBS Singh affair has been intriguing to say the least. A person who was accused of gross misdeeds as the head of the Wrestling Federation of India was given a long rope. The party neither censured him strongly enough nor suspend him (from the party). He was just asked to resign from WFI. Later, his acolyte Sanjay Singh was allowed to take over as WFI chief. The BJP, so careful about its image and so sensitive about what is written in the foreign press, did not buckle down in his case even when India's celebrated wrestlers were out on the streets demanding his resignation. The medal winners were manhandled, leading to more negative footage worldwide and yet, Singh remained in favour. Nothing moved the government then.

Now, in giving the Kaiserganj ticket to Karan Bhushan Singh, the BJP has shown that it just pays lip service to women's empowerment. This was the time when it could have punished Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh by denying him or his family a ticket to Lok Sabha. But nothing of that sort happened. The family got the ticket, will continue to rule in the area and will continue to wield immense clout in the UP wrestling federation and the WFI. As for the medal-winning wrestlers and their grievances, they can hold dharnas, return their medals and quit the sport - the BJP couldn’t care less. As Sakshi Malik said, "desh ki betiyan haar gayi".