Hoodas used wrestlers like Pandavas did Draupadi: Former WFI chief Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh
Gonda (UP), Sep 8: Former BJP MP Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh on Sunday accused the Hooda family of Congress of conspiring against him by using wrestlers as wager just as Pandavas had put Draupadi at stake.
Singh, a former chief of Wrestling Federation of India, was last year accused of sexual assault by several female wrestlers, who sat on a protest for weeks demanding a probe against him.
At his residence on Sunday, he told reporters, "In the gambling which took place in Mahabharat, Draupadi was put at stake. The Pandavas lost. The country is still not able to accept their reasons for doing it."
He added, "The Hooda family … put the honour of 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, who is an Olympic bronze-medallist, along with another Olympic bronze-winner Sakshi Malik spearheaded the agitation last year.
Singh said, "Bajrang Punia's mental condition has deteriorated. He had put his wife at stake. I want to ask him why he went to play in the Asian Games without trials?"
Asked about the wrestlers' protest in Delhi, Singh said, "There was no protest of wrestlers in Delhi. It was a family protest. When we say wrestlers, a group comes. Are wrestlers not in Punjab, Haryana? Are they not 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 used to come."
On Saturday, Singh, the former BJP MP from Kaiserganj, had said that Vinesh Phogat and Bajrang Punia were used by the Congress as "pawns" in a "conspiracy" to take control of the Wrestling Federation of India.
Singh first got control of WFI in 2012 after a bitter turf war with Deepender Singh Hooda.
The agitation forced Singh, a six-time Lok Sabha MP from the Kaiserganj constituency, to step down from the position of WFI head. He is currently facing criminal charges in a court.
After his ouster, his close aide Sanjay Singh was elected as the head of WFI but the body is yet to get recognition from the sports ministry, even though the world governing body for wrestling, UWW, has endorsed it.
On Friday, Phogat and Punia joined the Congress with a vow of "not being scared or backing off."
Subsequently, the Congress released its first list of 32 candidates for the Haryana Assembly polls, fielding former chief minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda from Garhi Sampla-Kiloi, state unit chief Udai Bhan from Hodal and Vinesh Phogat from Julana.
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UP: BJP MLA falls on rail track while flagging off Vande Bharat train
Etawah (UP), Sep 16: BJP's Etawah MLA Sarita Bhadauriya fell onto the railway tracks while vying to wave the green flag for the Agra-Varanasi Vande Bharat Express here on Monday.
Purported videos of the incident surfaced on social media.
The incident occurred amidst a crowded platform as the train arrived around 6 pm. The 61-year-old second-term BJP lawmaker was among a host of people holding the green flag as they stood at the platform, the video showed.
Following the virtual inauguration of the Vande Bharat train by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the train, numbered 20175, was flagged off by the Rail Minister Ravneet Singh Bittu from Agra.
When contacted by PTI, BJP's Etawah unit treasurer Sanjeev Bhadauriya said, "The MLA was helped off the track and she then waited for some time at the platform for the flag-off event."
"Later she consulted doctors and is resting at her home now. She did not suffer any visible physical injuries. If there is any internal injury, it is yet to be confirmed," Bhadauriya said.
The train made stops at Tundla before arriving at Etawah station. Upon its arrival, a commotion ensued on the platform as various political figures, including Samajwadi Party MP Jitendra Douwhare, former BJP MP Ram Shankar, and current MLA Sarita Bhadauriya, gathered to participate in the flag-off, the videos showed.
As the train's horn signalled its departure, the platform became chaotic with supporters jostling for position. In the ensuing melee, the MLA was pushed off the platform and she fell onto the railway tracks in front of the train, it showed.
The train was stopped in time by bystanders, preventing a major accident. Bhadauriya was quickly rescued from the tracks by the police and taken to the hospital, according to eyewitnesses.
Talking about the operation date for the Vande Bharat Express, PRO Prashasti Srivastava from the Agra division of the railways said that the date will be announced soon.
The train will cover the distance between Agra and Varanasi in approximately seven hours. The return train will operate as number 20176 from Varanasi to Agra, while the Agra-Varanasi service will be number 20175.
Etawah, UP: The flag-off ceremony for the Agra-Varanasi Vande Bharat Express faced chaos due to heavy rush, and BJP's Etawah Sadar MLA, Sarita Bhadoria, fell in front of the train pic.twitter.com/p10CfbDIF0
— IANS (@ians_india) September 16, 2024
