The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) has expressed its support for the wrestlers who have been protesting at Jantar Mantar against the Wrestling Federation of India (WFI) president and Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) Member of Parliament (MP) Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh. The wrestlers have accused the BJP MP of sexual harassment and molestation, and demand justice for the victims.
The Aam Aadmi Party has been closely monitoring the developments in this case and has extended its support to the protesting wrestlers. AAP senior leader and national spokesperson, Ms. Reena Gupta, met the wrestlers at Jantar Mantar today and extended solidarity on behalf of AAP National Convenor and Delhi CM Shri Arvind Kejriwal. She assured AAP’s support to the wrestlers fighting for justice. The wrestlers welcomed AAP’s support and thanked her for meeting them.
This is the second time in three months that the wrestlers are camping at Jantar Mantar to demand an investigation and suspension of the accused. The previous committee formed to investigate the matter failed to submit its report within two months, and the wrestlers allege that the report has been withheld to protect the accused at the behest of the ruling BJP.
Speaking to the media on Tuesday, Ms. Reena Gupta accused the BJP government of siding with criminals and protecting the accused. She said, “We should be appalled as a nation, that despite multiple complaints, even an FIR was not registered against a heinous individual from BJP who has caused unimaginable harm to thousands of young girls. Instead, we see proud Olympic medallists having to resort to protests at Jantar Mantar to demand justice for these victims. And yet, what do we see from the ruling BJP? It is shameful that the BJP government is protecting criminals and not allowing an FIR to be registered.”
Ms. Reena Gupta explained that the fact that the committee formed to investigate this matter has not yet released its report raises suspicions about what is being hidden and why the guilty MP is being shielded. “It is an outrage that Olympic medal winners are being forced to hit the streets against a government that claims to follow its own ‘Beti Bachao, Beti Padhao’ scheme,” she said.
She asserted that the AAP stands in solidarity with the wrestlers protesting against the heinous act committed against thousands of girls. “While the Prime Minister may boast about women wrestlers being like his family, the reality is that today, proud Olympic medallists of the country are forced to sleep under the open sky. In no other country in the world are Olympic medalists forced to protest like this. It is futile to expect a man who abandoned his own helpless mother and wife to stand up for the rights of women wrestlers. We have extended our support to the wrestlers fighting for justice and will not rest until the guilty BJP MP is brought to justice,” she said.
The AAP demands justice for the victims and will continue to fight until the guilty are held accountable. We stand with the wrestlers and all those who demand justice and equality for women in our country.
