Setback to Brijbhushan Sharan Singh as UP govt denies permission for rally

In an indication, amid a perceived groundswell of support for the protesting wrestlers, that the BJP was wary of the possible ''political impact'' of the ongoing protests by India's leading wrestlers, who have accused the Wrestling Federation of India chief and BJP MP Brijbhushan Sharan Singh of ''sexual assault'', the Uttar Pradesh government on Friday denied permission to Singh to organise a rally in an apparent show of strength in the temple town of Ayodhya on Monday.

Singh, in a statement issued after the denial of permission, stated that he had cancelled the rally which was to be addressed by some of the prominent saints and seers of Ayodhya, to 'thwart' the 'conspiracy' hatched by his political rivals, who wanted to disrupt social harmony by trying to give the protest a casteist angle.

Although Singh said that the saints and seers who were to address the rally, had also advised him to defer the rally, sources in the BJP said that the firebrand MP was warned against going public on the issue (wrestlers' protest).

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Sources said that the seers were likely to demand amendments in the POCSO (Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act) Act in the now cancelled rally. The seers had said earlier that the POCSO Act was being 'misused'. Incidentally a case under the POCSO Act was also lodged against Singh as one of the alleged victims of ''sexiual assault'' was a minor.

Political experts here opined that denial of permission to Singh to hold the rally was an indication that the saffron party was wary of the possible fallout of the wrestlers' protest, especially in the Jat dominated Western UP region which the party had swept in the 2019 Lok Sabha polls.

''The support of the powerful Jat community to the wrestlers seems to be behind the BJP's decision to warn Singh,'' remarked a Lucknow based political analyst.

While Singh chose not to take on the Ayodhya district administration after refusal of permission, he was known to speak his mind even if it was against the party leadership or the BJP government in the state. He had sharply criticised his own government, when floods had hit several eastern and central districts in the state, including Gonda, Baharaich, Ayodhya and some others last year.

Singh, who currently is an MP from Kaiserganj Lok Sabha seat in Baharaich district, had earlier represented Balrampur and Gonda LS seats as well. He had also got his wife Ketki Singh elected to Lok Sabha when he was in jail under TADA in 1996. His son Prateek Vardhan Singh is also an MLA.

Sources in the BJP said that Singh was not the kind of person who would take any action against him in his stride. That he had earlier been with other parties and might not hesitate to ditch the saffron party made it even harder for the party to act against him.

Barely a few days back Singh had claimed support of Samajwadi Party (SP) president Ahilesh Yadav on the wrestlers' protest issue saying that the latter 'knew' the 'truth' ''I have known Akhilesh since childhood.....he knows the truth.....80 percent wrestlers from UP believe in socialist ideology,'' Singh had said.