New Delhi: A Khap Panchayat that was held in Haryana’s Kurukshetra on Friday decided to give the government 7-10 days to take action against Wrestling Federation of India (WFI) chief Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh, who has been accused of sexually harassing female wrestlers. Speaking to news agency PTI, farmer leader Rakesh Tikait said, “A big message from Haryana (to the government) should be conveyed from here (Khap Panchayat in Kurukshetra). Let them have 7-10 days’ time (to take action). They cancelled the June 5 meeting (Brij Bhushan’s ‘maha rally’ in Ayodhya) after coming under pressure from the Khap Panchayat.”
VIDEO | “A big message from Haryana (to the government) should be conveyed from here (Khap Panchayat in Kurukshetra). Let them have 7-10 days’ time (to take action). They cancelled the June 5 meeting (Brij Bhushan’s ‘maha rally’ in Ayodhya) after coming under pressure from the… pic.twitter.com/kEYkokQfYX
— Press Trust of India (@PTI_News) June 2, 2023
Meanwhile, a rally, that was to be held by Brij Bushan Singh on June 5 has been postponed. Singh’s Jan Chetna Maha Rally to be held in Uttar Pradesh’s Ayodhya on June 5 has been postponed.
According to sources, the central BJP leadership instructed Brij Bhushan to avoid unnecessary statements pertaining to wrestlers’ allegations and prohibited him to hold the proposed rally in Ayodhya on June 5. Brij Bhushan cancelled the rally on the instructions of the high command, sources said.
Singh, in a Facebook post, said that he has postponed the ‘Jan Chetna Maharally’ at the Ram Katha Park for a few days due to the ongoing police probe.
“I have tried to unite people of all castes, communities and religions, both in power and in the opposition. It is for these reasons that my political opponents and their parties have levelled false allegations against me. In the present situation, some political parties are trying to disturb the social harmony by promoting provincialism, regionalism and caste conflict by holding rallies at various places,” he wrote in a Hindi post.
Earlier, a mahapanchayat was called by Bhartiya Kisan Union leader Naresh Tikait on Wednesday, a day after he and other farmer leaders managed to dissuade some of India’s top wrestlers from throwing their medals in the Ganga river to protest alleged police inaction against the outgoing WFI chief.