Under fire Wrestling Federation of India (WFI) president Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh will address media today, vowing to expose a ‘political conspiracy’ days after top wrestlers from the country levelled serious allegations him.
In a brief Facebook post, Brij Bhushan invited media for a press conference at the Wrestling Training Centre in Nawabganj in Gonda district, Uttar Pradesh to “expose conspiracy against wrestling and dignity of female wrestlers” on Friday afternoon (12 PM IST).
However, he postponed the interaction after 4 PM IST later on.
Also Read: Wrestlers Protest Live Updates
Wrestler Vinesh Phogat has accused the WFI chief of sexual harassment, an allegation which Brij Bhushan has denied. While Vinesh said she herself never faced any such exploitation but claimed a victim was present at their ‘dharna’ which began on Wednesday.
Earlier, Indian wrestlers’ meeting with Union Sports Minister Anurag Thakur remained inconclusive on Thursday night as they refused to back down from their demand that the government immediately disband WFI.
The marathon meeting began around 10 pm on Thursday, the second day of the wrestlers’ protest against WFI president Brij Bhushan. The wrestlers left Thakur’s house at 1:45 am and did not speak to the reporters waiting outside.
Olympic medallists Bajrang Punia, Ravi Dahiya, Sakshi Malik and world championship medallist Vinesh Phogat were part of the meeting.
Thakur flew to Delhi from Himachal Pradesh after an earlier meeting between government officials and the protesting wrestlers remained inconclusive.
The wrestlers will meet the Sports minister again on Friday, according to government officials. The ministry cannot force Brij Bhushan to resign unless it receives a written reply from the WFI since the government itself has asked the wrestling body for an explanation.
The WFI is yet to respond to the Sports Ministry, which on Wednesday gave the wrestling body 72 hours to respond to allegations of sexual harassment of several woman athletes and intimidation by its president.
According to sources, the government wants the wrestlers to end their protest but the athletes are adamant that the WFI should be disbanded first.
”The government can resolve other issues later. We are fine with that, but it must disband the WFI first,” a source close to the wrestlers told PTI.
A team of wrestlers, including Bajrang, Vinesh, Anshu Malik, Sakshi and her husband Satyawrat Kadiyan met government officials earlier on Thursday and discussed their issues with Sports Secretary Sujata Chaturvedi and Sports Authority of India Director General Sandip Pradhan.
During the hour-long meeting, the wrestlers were asked to end their protest and assured that their grievances will be addressed. Former wrestler and BJP leader Babita Phogat was also part of the meeting to break the deadlock.
With PTI Inputs
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