WFI chief thanks Akhilesh Yadav for not siding with protesting wrestlers

WFI chief and BJP MP Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh on Sunday appreciated Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav for not extending support to top wrestlers of the country who are protesting at Jantar Mantar seeking his resignation over sexual harassment allegations.

"I want to thank the leader of Samajwadi party, Akhilesh Yadav, (for not siding with the protesting wrestlers). I know him since his childhood. I am elder to him. Though there are political differences between us, Akhilesh knows the truth. If there are 10,000 wrestlers in UP, out of them, 8,000 are from the Yadav community and they belong to the Samajwadi family, and hence know the truth," PTI quoted the WFI president as saying.

So far, many leaders including Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal and Congress Secretary Priyanka Gandhi have met the protestors and extended their support to them.

On April 23, the country's top wrestlers started the second round of protest against the WFI chief demanding action against Singh, also a BJP MP, on sexual harassment allegations levelled by seven women players.

The Delhi Police on Friday filed two FIRs against him. The first FIR relates to allegations by a minor wrestler and was registered under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act, while the second was related to outraging modesty.

The protesters now want him to be sacked from all positions.

However, Singh has said that he is ready to quit the position if the protestors end the sit-in. "If they (protesters) will go back (to their home) and sleep peacefully after my resignation, I am ready to resign," he said.

He also accused them of becoming mere "toys" in the hands of the opposition. "All these players have become toys of the Congress and other opposition parties. Their motive is political, not my resignation," he said.

The BJP leader also questioned how players associated with railways were sitting at the protest site. "It is their right to protest, but can a player associated with the railways sit on protest like this where objectionable slogans are being raised against Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath," he asked.