'Broken morale of crores of daughters': Sakshi Malik after BJP fields Brij Bhushan's son from Kaiserganj

Former wrestler and Olympic medalist Sakshi Malik on Thursday launched a blistering attack against the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) for fielding tainted MP and former Wrestling Federation of India (WFI) president Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh's son Karan Bhushan Singh from the Kaiserganj Lok Sabha seat in Uttar Pradesh.

Malik said in a post in Hindi on X (formerly Twitter) that with this move, the daughters of the country have lost and Brij Bhushan Singh has won. She further said that all the wrestlers who protested against Brij Bhushan and sought his removal from the Wrestling Federation of India (WFI) put their careers on the line and slept on the streets.

Wrestlers who took to the roads to protest against Singh included Malik herself, Bajrang Punia, and Vinesh Phogat. She added that Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh is roaming scot-free. "We all put our careers at stake, slept on the streets for many days in sun and rain. Till date Brij Bhushan has not been arrested. We were not demanding anything, we were only demanding justice," Malik said in her post.

She added that by fielding Karan Bhushan Singh from Kaiserganj, the BJP has broken the morale of crores of daughters across India. The former wrestler said: "Leave the arrest, today by giving ticket to his son you have broken the morale of crores of daughters of the country. If the ticket goes to only one family, is the country's government so weak in front of one man?"

Towards the end of her post, she also jabbed the ruling BJP for seeking votes in the name of Lord Rama and Ram Mandir. "Only votes are needed in the name of Lord Shri Ram, what about the path shown by him?"

The BJP dropped Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh from Kaiserganj due to allegations of sexual harassment by women wrestlers, which led to massive protests by several athletes. In June 2023, the Delhi Police filed a chargesheet in connection with the case against the former WFI president.

At present, Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh is the sitting MP from Kaiserganj. Karan Bhushan Singh is currently the president of the Uttar Pradesh Wrestling Association.