New Delhi: Under the lens over alleged sexual harassment, Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader and Wrestling Federation of India (WFI) chief Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh postponed the 5 June Ayodhya maha rally.
The Kaiserganj MP took to Facebook Friday morning to make the announcement. “Some political parties are trying to disturb social harmony by organising various rallies where they are promoting regionalism, casteism and provincialism,” he wrote.
“This is why I had decided to organise a rally in Ayodhya, to dissuade the filthy notion being propagated in the society. But since the police are investigating the matter, and in respect of the Supreme Court’s decision, I’m postponing the Jan Chetna Maha Rally which was to take place in Ayodhya on 5 June,” the BJP leader added.
Among various objectives of the rally, Brij Sharan — who is booked under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act in one of the two FIRs against him — is seeking the dilution of the POCSO.
The ‘Jan Chetna Maha Rally’ in Ayodhya is seen as his attempt to consolidate the support of a section of Hindu seers in the wake of women wrestlers accusing him of sexual harassment.
Any support from the seers will seemingly come to his aid at a time when farmer unions have come out in support to the wrestlers and are organising maha panchayats to discuss the next steps to take to further the wrestlers’ agitation.
At a mahapanchayat in Muzaffarnagar Thursday, Bhatiya Kisan Union leader Rakesh Tikait had claimed he had gone to Ayodhya and spoken to saints personally, who had extended support to the wrestlers’ cause.
‘False accusations’
In his Facebook post, Brij Sharan maintained that he is a victim of politics and that accusations against him are false. “I have served the Lok Sabha for the last 28 years with your support. I have tried to unite people of all castes, communities and religions. This is why my opponents have levelled these false accusations against me,” he wrote in his post.
On Thursday, ThePrint reported on details of the FIR against the Kaiserganj MP in which the complainants described the sexual abuse they faced allegedly at his hands through the years.
Brij Sharan has repeatedly denied the accusations and said if anything against him is proven, he will hang himself. “On this issue (sexual harassment allegations) people of all religions, castes and reigons have kindly extended their support to me,” he wrote.
(Edited by Tony Rai)
Also Read: Akhilesh silent but Dimple makes a point: Why SP is walking a tightrope on Brij Bhushan
Source: The Print
