The Charges Are Serious And WFI Chief Must Go
Editor-in-Chief of indiacommentary.com. Current Affairs analyst and political commentator.
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By Sunil Garodia
First publised on 2023-01-20 06:29:19
About the Author
Editor-in-Chief of indiacommentary.com. Current Affairs analyst and political commentator.
View all posts by this Author
Close on
the heels of sexual harassment charges against former hockey Olympian and now
Haryana minister Sandeep Singh, prominent wrestlers have united to stage a
dharna at Jantar Mantar in Delhi against the Wrestling Federation of India
chief Brij Bhusan Sharan Singh. They have accused Singh of sexual harassment
charges against wrestlers. The wrestlers, including celebrated names like Bajrang
Punia, Sakshi Malik and Vinesh Phogat, have so far not yielded to overtures
from the Centre and are determined to file an FIR against Singh.
The Centre
has taken cognizance and has asked the WFI to explain. It also first sent former
wrestler and now BJP member Babita Phogat as an emissary to know what the
wrestlers wanted. Then, later in the evening, sports minister Anurag Thakur
also held a meeting with their representatives. But the group is adamant and
they want Singh to go. They will also initiate criminal action against him. The
wrestlers want to keep the movement apolitical and when CPM leader Brinda Karat
wanted to show solidarity, Bajrang Punia told her in no uncertain terms to get
off the stage and not make it political.
It is
disgusting that people in positions of trust and managing the affairs of a
sports federation or looking after the sports ministry prey on female athletes
and sportspersons. As the wards are vulnerable, these men often lure them with
false promises. The government must not procrastinate - it must be strict
whenever such allegations surface and must ask the concerned person to resign
immediately pending investigation. Since these men often wield immense power,
if they continue to hold the position they can spoil careers or otherwise harm
sportspersons who expose them.
The sad
fact is that since the accused are powerful, no action is taken against them by
the federations and often the charges are dismissed forthwith without the need
for an internal investigation. This state of affairs must be rectified. It is
the sportspersons who bring glory to the nation and not association office
bearers. If the allegations made by such sportspersons are not taken seriously,
many promising careers will be nipped in the bud and the sport will suffer.
