Feelings that politicians can get away with their wrong acts has been reinforced yet again as the central government started pussy-footing over the sensational accusations against BJP MP from Uttar Pradesh, Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh. He was cornered by a set of ace women wrestlers over alleged sexual harassment. But, their months-long agitation in New Delhi seeking punitive action against him fell on deaf ears. However, a promise came from Home Minister Amit Shah a week ago that cases shall be filed against Brij Bhushan, who was already stripped of the post. While this led to the suspension of the protests, the charge-sheet filed in the Delhi court on Thursday was so banal that the MP can escape arrest. The watered-down version of the allegations might even allow the accused to have the last laugh. This is the tragedy of our times.
The MP, who as president of the Wrestling Federation of India had direct control over teams that represented the nation at global events, allegedly pounced on several of these women while abroad too. Singh vehemently denies the allegations and says these were politically motivated. His script was a standard excuse. True, what these women perhaps lacked was solid evidence. This seemed to be providing him a window of opportunity to wriggle out of the charges even in a court of law. Notably, in a very similar situation in the past, veteran journalist MJ Akbar quit his post of Union Minister and fought the cases.
The bane of the Indian sports and games field is the overlordship of athletes and others by politicians from the ruling party, who are appointed to head such bodies at the national level. They have no business to be there. Brij Bhushan is just another character. Indian politicians, many of them drop-outs from schools and colleges, cannot be expected to have any sense of discipline. They often mess up with situations. The large-scale corruption among them is only one side of their indulgences. The case of a senior Congress politician Suresh Kalmadi in relation to the Commonwealth Games scam and his arrest in 2014 are well-documented. Expectations were that the BJP dispensation under Narendra Modi would not just rein in corruption but bring about a culture of accountability but this was wishful thinking.
India, carrying with it the world’s largest population of over 1.40 billion, has been having a pathetic show, in iterations, at the Olympics or the Asian Games or the other such global events. After every such glittering event, our teams return with their heads down in deep shame. The nation keeps cutting a sorry figure. Those like Brij Bhushan further sully the image of the nation.