The Congress stated on July 11 that the treatment of the sexual harassment allegations against Lok Sabha member and head of the Wrestling Federation of India (WFI) Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh had put the Modi government to the test.
A person suspected of crimes against women should be removed from his office, according to law and ethics, and a fair probe should be launched, said Congress national secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra in a tweet. Then, she argued, the accused ought to be taken into custody and sentenced in a court of law.
“But in the BJP government, why is the one accused of atrocities against women players who brought laurels to the country protected and why is the matter being hushed up during investigation? Why is the entire government silent on this matter? Why is the accused still in the BJP and why has no action been taken?” Ms. Vadra asked.
Congress spokesperson Supriya Shrinate questioned Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s “silence” on the matter and questioned when Mr. Singh would be detained.
“Why is Prime Minister Modi silent on the issue of sexual harassment against women sportspersons? When will Modiji expel MP Brij Bhushan Singh from the party? When will Brij Bhushan Singh be arrested? When will the Modi government stop giving protection and patronising Brij Bhushan Singh?” asked Ms. Shrinate at a press conference.
“You and your government are facing a test Mr. Modi, not from the Opposition but from India’s daughters,” she added.
Ms. Singh was charged on June 15 by the Delhi Police with stalking and sexual harassment of six female wrestlers. The POCSO case brought against him based on a juvenile wrestler’s accusation should also be dropped, according to the police.
Ms. Shrinate referenced press reports claiming that the Delhi Police had charged the WFI chairman with stalking, intimidation, and sexual harassment and asked the court to take steps to prosecute him.
She continued by saying that 15 of the 108 people who spoke with the Delhi Police repeated the identical accusations to the Oversight Committee, which was established in January. “Yet, it is ironic that the six-member Oversight Committee set up by the government under Mary Kom ignored these very allegations. During the hearing in February, the wrestlers made allegations of sexual harassment against Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh while testifying before the committee,” she said.
The government didn’t appeal to the wrestlers even when they wanted to throw their hard-earned medals into the Ganga, she said. “Will the government not break its silence even after the chargesheet of the Delhi Police against Brij Bhushan Singh? Will PM Modi still not speak? If this government had any morality, then it would have given protection to the daughters and not to the accused,” Ms. Shrinate said.
