Gonda, Uttar Pradesh: In between the allegations of sexual harassment by the country’s top wrestlers, former WFI chief and BJP leader Brij Bhushan Singh held a rally in the Lok Sabha constituency of Gonda in Uttar Pradesh on Sunday.
Earlier, Singh was denied permission to hold a rally in Ayodhya by the district’s local authority.
Brij Bhushan Singh is accused of sexual assault by seven female wrestlers, including a minor. Wrestlers like Olympic gold medalist Sakshi Malik and Bajrang Punia and World Championship Medalist, Babita Phogat are protesting in New Delhi against Brij Bhushan Singh since April.
Will contest election from Kaiserganj: Brij Bhushan Singh
The rally involved 50 jeeps and a 35km long roadshow. After the rally, Singh gave a 23-minute long speech. He began his speech with Urdu poetry: “Kabhi Ishq, kabhi gham, to kabhi her piya jata hai… tab ja kar zamane mein jiya jata hai. Yeh mila mujhko mohabbat ka silla, bewafa kehke mera naam liya jata hai. Isko runway kahen ki short apni, dabe honcho se mera naam liya jata hai. (Sometimes one has to take a lot of grief and poison to live in this world… This is the reward I got for my love, they call me unfaithful. Should I call it notoriety or fame, they take my name with pursed lips).”
In his speech, Brij Bhushan Singh said that he will contest the next Lok Sabha election from Kaiserganj without telling on whose ticket. “2024 ka chunav Kaiserganj se Ladoga (I will contest the next Lok Sabha polls from Kaiserganj),” he said to the media.
Brij Bhushan Singh has been an MP from Kaiserganj thrice- once from the Samajwadi party’s seat. Before that, he was elected MP from Gonda twice- in the 1991 and 1999 Lok Sabha elections. Currently, he is serving as a sixth-term MP from the Kaiserganj seat.
Singh, during his speech, lauded the work of the Modi government over the last nine years. He said he is certain that BJP will come back to power again in 2024.
Protesting wrestlers are demanding the arrest of Brij Bhushan Singh since the start of their protest. But so far the government has not arrested Singh. However, in a six-hour-long meeting with the wrestlers, Union Minister Anurag Thakur gave insurance that the investigation into the sexual harassment case will be completed by June 15. Read for more details here.
The wrestler suspended their protest after meeting with the Thakur. But they said they will restart their protest if Delhi police files a weak chargesheet against Brij Bhushan Singh.
Signal to Modi and Shah
Although the government has not arrested Singh, the meeting of Amit Shah and then of Anurag Thakur with the presetting wrestler suggest that the government is trying to distance itself from Singh and possibly take some big steps. That’s why, this rally in Gonda by Brij Bhushan Singh is also a signal to Shah and Modi that he still holds a significant political influence in several regions of Uttar Pradesh.
Through this rally, Singh has given the signal that BJP leadership that he can cause them significant damage in the constituencies like Gonda, Kaiserganj, Balrampur, Faizabad and Shravasti. He is also keeping his option open. Sing has not spoken anything about Samajwadi Party or Akhilesh Yadav during his rally. It’s making many political analysts things he can switch to another party if he does not get the ticket from BJP.