Kambala organisers drop Brij Bhushan's name after backlash

The organisers of the Bengaluru Kambala on Tuesday decided not to invite BJP MP Brij Bhushan Singh, who is accused of sexual assault, to the event after his name on the invitation led to an uproar on social media.

Speaking to media persons here, Puttur MLA Ashok Rai, president of the Bengaluru Kambala Committee, clarified that Singh’s name will be removed from the invitation.

The Kambala event will take place on November 25 and 26 at Palace Grounds. This will be the first for Bengaluru. 

“Since he headed the Wrestling Federation of India, a few representatives of the Federation had requested us to invite him. He had not confirmed his participation. In fact, he had sent a letter that he would be unable to make it to the event. We will make the required changes now,” Rai said.

According to the invite, the former chief of WFI was supposed to take part in a programme as part of the event, to felicitate wrestling champions from the state.  On Tuesday, the Bengaluru Kambala Committee received backlash on social media for inviting the tainted MP who is accused of sexually assaulting women wrestlers.

Congress spokesperson Bhavya Narasimhamurthy stated on X (formerly Twitter): “Against BJP MP Brij Bhushan Singh being invited as a chief guest for a cultural programme in Bengaluru. A sexual predator cannot be glorified on our land. Those female wrestlers are our sisters, we Karnataka women stand with them and oppose this sexual predator.” 

Health Minister Dinesh Gundu Rao, one of the chief guests, said he spoke to the organisers soon after finding out that Brij Bhushan was among the invitees. “Kambala is a special festival-like sport and we want the event to go well. But inviting such people who are controversial would create confusion. It’d be wrong to have such people. Organisers agreed and decided not to invite him,” Rao said.