The BJP Thursday named Karan Bhushan Singh as its candidate from the Kaiserganj seat in Uttar Pradesh, replacing his father and sitting MP Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh who has been accused of sexually harassing women wrestlers.
Kaiserganj votes on May 20 in the fifth phase of the Lok Sabha polls.
Wrestler Bajrang Punia, one of the key faces of the protests against Brij Bhushan, said the decision to give the Kaiserganj ticket to Karan Bhushan shows that the “BJP does not care about the safety of women” and that “parivarvad” or dynastic politics is prevalent in the ruling party.
Karan is the Uttar Pradesh wrestling federation’s president – Brij Bhushan was president of the Wrestling Federation of India when women wrestlers levelled charges against him.
Bajrang Punia, who led the protests demanding Brij Bhushan’s arrest, told The Indian Express: “I don’t know why the government is so scared of Brij Bhushan. His son getting the ticket also shows the ‘parivarvad’ in the BJP. The BJP criticises other parties saying ‘parivarvad’ exists, but they are no different.”
With Karan now set to take over the political baton from his father, Bajrang said that by giving the ticket to him, the BJP has shown they don’t value the voices of women and are not concerned about the safety of women.
“It is shameful that the government is supporting a person who is sexually harassing the sister and daughters (women wrestlers) of this country. When it comes to the ticket for Lok Sabha elections, the person who has been molesting women and a person against whom there are already so many criminal cases lodged… they are giving his son the ticket. Giving a ticket to the son is equal to giving a ticket to the father, the power will be with the father. The son is just a dummy. There can’t be anything worse than this. Sexual harassment of women will continue at this rate,” he said.
“BJP gives messages like women empowerment and slogans of beti bachao and beti padhao… this is the way they are saving women. If the government continues to support Brij Bushan then who can defeat him? Can wrestlers like us defeat him? Brij Bhushan had power, has power and will continue to have power in the future also,” Bajrang said.
This isn’t the first time Karan will succeed his father. In February this year, he took over as president of the UP Wrestling Federation, which Brij Bhushan had been heading for the last 12 years.
A similar strategy unfolded during the Wrestling Federation of India elections last December, Bajrang said.
“First, this happened in the Wrestling Federation of India because his dummy (close aide Sanjay Singh was elected president) took over. Everyone knows who controls him,” Bajrang said.
Karan’s name was initially floated for the WFI top job but after the government’s diktat that none of Brij Bhushan’s family members would be allowed to contest in those polls, Sanjay Singh – the six-time MP’s close aide – was elected to the post.
The result saw Sakshi Malik quit wrestling, while Vinesh Phogat returned her Khel Ratna and Arjuna award and Bajrang returned his Padma Shri.
While Brij Bhushan’s elder son Pratik is a MLA, this will be Karan’s first foray into mainstream politics.
Brij Bhushan has been found liable for prosecution for sexual harassment, molestation and stalking of women wrestlers in a Delhi Police chargesheet. Six women wrestlers had filed a complaint of sexual harassment in April last year and India’s top wrestlers had protested for two months at Jantar Mantar demanding his arrest.
Last week, a Delhi court rejected Brij Bhushan’s plea of seeking further investigation into the allegations of sexual harassment.
