BJP's Brij Bhushan announces bid for 2024 Lok Sabha polls

Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader and Wrestling Federation of India (WFI) President Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh has reportedly announced that he will be contesting the 2024 Lok Sabha elections again from Kaiserganj, Uttar Pradesh. Notably, he is currently facing sexual harassment allegations leveled by seven women wrestlers. Singh's announcement came during a rally at Gonda to mark nine years of the BJP-led central government.

Why does this story matter?

Top Indian grapplers, including Bajrang Punia, Vinesh Phogat, and Sakshee Malikkh, have been agitating for over a month, demanding the arrest of the WFI chief over sexual harassment changes. Union Sports Minister and BJP leader Anurag Thakur assured the agitating wrestlers on Wednesday that a chargesheet would be filed by Thursday (June 15) against Singh. Following this, the wrestlers halted their agitating until Thursday.

They call me unfaithful, said Singh

"This is the reward I have received for my love, they call me unfaithful. Call it notoriety or fame, they take my name with pursed lips," The Indian Express quoted Singh as saying at the event organized to mark nine years of PM Narendra Modi's government. What's interesting is that Singh reportedly didn't mention the ongoing protest against him over the sexual harassment allegations.

Visuals of Singh arriving at Gonda

Police asked wrestlers to provide proof to back claim: Report

On the other hand, the Delhi Police reportedly asked the female wrestlers who leveled the sexual harassment allegations against the BJP MP to present videos, photos, or WhatsApp texts to back their claims. On June 5, separate notices were also sent to these wrestlers under Section 91 of the Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC) and gave them a day to reply.

Wrestlers don't have faith in police probe: Punia

One of the star wrestlers demanding the arrest of the chief of the WFI, Punia, revealed on Saturday that the protesting grapplers didn't trust the police probe. During an interview with NDTV, he also claimed that there was also an attempt to "shield" the WFI president and that he was hindering the probe into the matter by being out of jail.

Details on ongoing wrestlers' protest

After three months of inaction, wrestlers resumed their protest in April and blamed the BJP-led Centre for delaying the release of the report by the committee investigating the allegations. Furthermore, the protesters flagged how the WFI resumed its operations despite the ongoing investigation. Notably, two FIRs were filed against Singh by the Delhi Police on April 28 after being rapped by the Supreme Court.