NEW DELHI: Vinesh Phogat on Friday urged Prime Minister Narendra Modi to not invite his party’s member of parliament Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh to the inauguration of the new Parliament building on May 28 here.
She said if the BJP-strongman from Uttar Pradesh’s Kaiserganj constituency does attend the function, it will say a lot about who the government is standing with. Singh is accused of sexually harassing seven female wrestlers, including a minor, during his stint as the Wrestling Federation of India (WFI) chief.
Two FIRs have been registered against him at the Connaught Place police station, including one under the POCSO act. Modi will inaugurate the new Parliament complex on Sunday after performing puja according to Vedic rituals starting at 11:30am.
“If Brij Bhushan goes to attend the inauguration of the new Parliament building, that day the whole country will witness who the government is standing with. We need not say anything more. The people of this country are educated and knowledgeable enough to understand who the government is supporting,” Vinesh told a select group of journalists at the Jantar Mantar protest site.
“Whoever in the government is shielding Brij Bhushan is not with us. I am not saying the PM of our country is protecting him, because internally I don’t know anything about it. But someone is definitely shielding him and that person is against the country’s daughters and their fight for justice. That man is facing serious allegations of sexual harassment from female wrestlers. If that person will go inside the Parliament house, then one can only imagine where our country is headed to,” the reigning Asian Games and CWG champion alleged.
The protesting wrestlers led by Bajrang Punia, Vinesh and Sakshi Malik don’t have the police’s permission to hold the proposed ‘Mahila Samman Mahapanchayat’ outside the new Parliament complex on May 28.
When asked about the possibility of violence and scuffle between the people attending the mahapanchayat, including wrestlers, and the police, Sakshi said, “We will not resort to any kind of violence, no matter what. We are requesting our supporters to carry out the mahapanchayat peacefully. We have applied for the permission and, as citizens of this country, have every right to be granted one. We are ready to pay any price in our fight for justice even if the police try to get physical with us. We are ready to face lathis, teargas shells and water cannons but will not step back from hosting the mahapanchayat outside the Parliament complex.”
