Congress criticises BJP over Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh’s ‘Draupadi’ remarks

New Delhi: The Congress on Monday termed former BJP MP Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh's comments that the Hooda family had used wrestlers as betting chips just as the Pandavas had staked Draupadi as “appalling” and asked that if such elements were being nurtured in the ruling party, then women in the country could not be expected to be safe.

Singh, a former chairman of the Wrestling Federation of India (WFI), was accused of sexual assault by several female wrestlers last year. Several female wrestlers had remained silent for weeks at a protest rally and demanded that he be investigated.

Speaking to reporters at his residence in Gonda, Uttar Pradesh, on Sunday, Singh said, “In the gamble in the Mahabharat, Draupadi was gambled. The Pandavas lost. The country is still unable to accept their reasons for doing so.” “The Hooda family gambled the honour of their daughters and sisters. The future generations will not forgive them and they will always be held responsible for it,” he added.

Asked about Singh's comments, Congress's media and publicity chief Pawan Khera said, “Terrible comment by Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh. Unfortunately, the BJP is unable to tame him. They have to tame him because he is speaking ill of the ruling party of this country.” “If such elements are being nurtured in the ruling party, then how can you expect women to be safe in this country?” Khera said. PTI Videos.

Vinesh Phogat and Bajrang Punia, an Olympic bronze medallist, and Sakshi Malik, another Olympic bronze medallist, led the agitation against Singh last year.

The former WFI president said, “Bajrang Punia's mental state has deteriorated. He has put his wife at risk. I want to ask him why he participated in the Asian Games without any trial.” Asked about the wrestlers' protests in Delhi, Singh said, “There were no wrestlers' protests in Delhi, they were family protests. When we say wrestlers, one group comes to mind. Are there no wrestlers in Punjab, Haryana? Are there no wrestlers in Maharashtra, Bihar, Uttar Pradesh, (West) Bengal and Himachal (Pradesh)?” He accused Congress leader Deepender Singh Hooda of leading the protests at Jantar Mantar in Delhi. “Priyanka Gandhi also came,” he added.

On Saturday, Singh, the former BJP MP from Kaiserganj in Uttar Pradesh, had said Phogat and Punia were being used by the Congress as “pawns” in a “conspiracy” to take control of the WFI.

Phogat and Punia joined the Congress on Friday, pledging “not to be afraid or back down”. The Congress then released its first list of 32 candidates for the Haryana Assembly elections. The list included former chief minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda from Garhi Sampla-Kiloi, state chief minister Udai Bhan from Hodal and Phogat from Julana.

Singh first took control of the WFI in 2012 after a bitter turf war with Deepender Singh Hooda.