Wrestlers Bajrang Punia, Sakshi Malik threaten fresh protest after Brij Bhushan’s son gets key post

India’s ace wrestlers Bajrang Punia and Sakshi Malik have issued a fresh warning to start their protest again in response to the appointment of Karan Bhushan Singh, the son of former Wrestling Federation of India (WFI) president Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh, as the president of the Uttar Pradesh Wrestling Association.

Both Olympic medalists are discontented with the reinstatement of Sanjay Singh, a close associate of Brij Bhushan and the BJP MP from Kaiserganj, as the WFI president to oversee the federation’s daily operations, following the United World Wrestling’s (UWW) decision to lift the federation’s suspension on Tuesday.

The UWW lifted the provisional suspension on India, however, they instructed the national federation to furnish written assurances that there would be no discriminatory measures taken against the protesting trio of Punia, Sakshi Malik, and Vinesh Phogat. The suspension was imposed by the UWW in August of the previous year due to the Wrestling Federation of India’s failure to conduct elections within the stipulated timeframe.

The wrestlers are concerned about decision-making being vested in individuals loyal to Brij Bhushan at both the state and WFI levels, prompting them to take to social media with a threat to revive their protests. Karan previously held the position of vice president of UP wrestling.

Tokyo Olympics bronze medallist Punia, in a video on Instagram, said, “Just 2-3 days back, Brij Bhushan’s son became the president of the UP wrestling body despite him saying no one from his family will come into wrestling administration. The government had promised that Brij Bhushan or his relatives or associates will not govern the sport.”

He added, “I request the government to take a quick decision. Even though the IOA (ministry) has suspended the WFI, the WFI conducted its nationals in Pune, elections are happening in states… The WFI thinks it is bigger than the government. We wrestlers will talk to all those who support us — farmer groups, khap panchayats, labour unions and women organisations — and make a decision in the next two to three days. I request the government not to force us to start the protests again.”

Brij Bhushan, 66, is accused of sexual harassment by six women wrestlers. The BJP leader has held the position of WFI chief since 2012. Aside from facing allegations of sexual harassment and mental torture, prominent wrestlers such as Bajrang Punia and Ravi Dahiya have vocally criticised the ‘dictatorial’ leadership style of the six-time parliamentarian.

Malik said in a video post on X that if Brij Bhushan’s aides were allowed to run WFI, she would hit the streets again. She said, “We came to know yesterday that Sanjay Singh has done some setting with the UWW and got the suspension lifted. I have retired from wrestling but I won’t allow Brij Bhushan and his people to run the federation and also trouble women wrestlers. In the next few days, we will talk to everyone who was involved in the protest and decide the future course of action. I request the government to remove people connected to Brij Bhushan from the WFI and place someone who is clean and capable at the top.”

For over a year, Punia, Malik, and Phogat have been engaged in protests, advocating for the apprehension of Brij Bhushan on allegations of sexually harassing female wrestlers. The protests ceased following a meeting with Sports Minister Anurag Thakur, during which the government guaranteed that no member of Brij Bhushan’s family would participate in the WFI elections. However, three days after the WFI elections on December 21, the Sports Ministry suspended the newly-elected committee of the governing body. This action was prompted by the behaviour of Brij Bhushan immediately after the announcement of the election results.