Hoodas used wrestlers like Pandavas, staked Draupadi: Former WFI chief

Former Wrestling Federation of India chief and BJP leader Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh | (Photo: PTI)

3 min read Last updated: 08 Sep 2024 | 17:14 IST

Former BJP MP Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh on Sunday accused the Congress’ Hooda family of conspiring against him by betting wrestlers just as Pandavas had staked Draupadi.

Singh, former president of the Indian Wrestling Federation, was accused of sexual abuse by several female wrestlers last year, who staged a protest demonstration against him for weeks, demanding an investigation against him.

On Sunday, he told reporters at his residence: “In the gambling that took place in Mahabharat, Draupadi was put at stake. The Pandavas lost. The country is still unable to accept why they did this.”

He added: “The Hooda family put the honour of their daughters and sisters at stake. The future generation will not forgive them for this and they will always be held guilty for this.”

Vinesh Phogat and Bajrang Punia, bronze medallist at the Olympics, along with Sakshi Malik, another bronze medallist at the Olympics, were the driving forces behind the campaign last year.

Singh said: “Bajrang Punia’s mental condition has deteriorated. He has put his wife at risk. I want to ask him why he went to the Asian Games without trials?”

Asked about the wrestlers’ protest in Delhi, Singh said, “There was no protest by wrestlers in Delhi. It was a family protest. When we talk about wrestlers, a group comes. Aren’t there wrestlers in Punjab, Haryana? Aren’t there wrestlers in Maharashtra, Bihar, UP, Bengal and Himachal?”

He accused Congress leader Deepender Hooda of leading the protest at Delhi’s Jantar Mantar. “Priyanka Gandhi also came there.”

On Saturday, Singh, the former BJP MP from Kaiserganj, said Vinesh Phogat and Bajrang Punia were being used by the Congress as “pawns” in a “conspiracy” to gain control of the Wrestling Federation of India.

Singh first gained control of WFI in 2012 after a fierce battle with Deepender Singh Hooda.

The agitation forced Singh, a six-time Lok Sabha MP from Kaiserganj constituency, to resign as WFI chief. He is currently facing criminal charges in a court.

After his ouster, his close associate Sanjay Singh was elected as head of WFI, but the organisation has yet to receive recognition from the Ministry of Sports, despite being endorsed by the global governing body for wrestling, UWW.

On Friday, Phogat and Punia joined the Congress with a pledge that they would “not be afraid and not back down.”

The Congress then released its first list of 32 candidates for the Haryana state assembly elections. They included former chief minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda from Garhi Sampla-Kiloi, state chief Udai Bhan from Hodal and Vinesh Phogat from Julana.

(Only the headline and image of this report may have been edited by Business Standard staff; the rest of the content is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)

First publication: 08 Sep 2024 | 17:14 IST

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Hoodas used wrestlers like Pandavas, staked Draupadi: Former WFI chief | India News

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