Speaking out on the suspension of the panel led by him that won the elections to the Wrestling Federation of India, Sanjay Singh has said they will first talk to the government and, if that does not work, take legal advice to save the wrestling body. 

Speaking to NDTV, Mr Singh, seen as a close aide of sexual harassment-accused former federation chief Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh, claimed that the decision to hold under-15 and under-20 nationals was taken to ensure that the future of the young wrestlers is not ruined. The Union sports ministry, while suspending the panel, had termed this decision “hasty” and said that it was taken “without following the provisions of the constitution of WFI”.

The suspended WFI president also pointed out that both Brij Bhushan and wrestler Sakshee Malikkh have said that they will not be involved with the sport anymore and that wrestling should be allowed to carry on without politics becoming an issue.

Next Steps?

“We will speak to the government first and, if that does not work, I will take legal advice to save my federation. The allegation is that we took the decision to hold the nationals in haste, but it was decided upon after meeting the quorum requirements. The annual general meeting was held and every state had two delegates present for voting,” Mr Singh said.

Speaking in Hindi, the WFI chief said the meeting was adjourned after the elections and continued later at a hotel. “The delegates of all states decided that if the national championships were not held in this calendar year, the future of the wrestlers would be ruined. The certificates that they get are used by them for admissions and jobs, and that is why the decision was taken,” he claimed. 

Choice of venue

The fact that Nandini Nagar in Uttar Pradesh’s Gonda, which is considered a stronghold of BJP MP Brij Bhushan, was chosen as the venue for the nationals had also led to a controversy. 

When Mr Singh was asked about this, he said, “Everyone told us that they do not have the infrastructure. To hold both national wrestling championships together, at least six wrestling mats are needed. Nandini Nagar has a Tata centre as well as Sports Authority of India centre. So, the decision was taken by everyone. It is not my decision alone.”

On a perceived Haryana-Uttar Pradesh divide in the sport, he said, “We are one family, one akhada. Nearly 99% of young wrestlers in Haryana are with us. Their future in the sport is getting ruined and we are trying to prevent that from happening. We are interested in the sport. Those who want to indulge in politics can do so, they will get the answer in the political arena, and those in wrestling will get their answer in the sporting arena.”

“Close To Brij Bhushan For Years”

Asked whether the suspension could be the result of someone trying to pressure Brij Bhushan through him, Mr Singh said, “I have been close to Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh for 12 years. I have been in the federation since 2008 and he became the president in 2011. I love the sport, and he and I got close because of that.”

“Brij Bhushan ji has said he has nothing to with wrestling anymore. Sakshee Mallikh has said she has retired from the sport. People should let the sport go ahead without any acrimony. Let newer wrestlers develop and let wrestling, which has been stopped for a year, proceed. Both of them can do politics elsewhere,” he added, as his supporters broke out in chants of ‘Har Har Mahadev’.

Suspension

The panel led by Sanjay Singh was suspended on Sunday, just three days after being elected. Those three days had seen hectic activity, including Brij Bhushan saying his dominance in the body would continue; Olympic medallist Sakshee Malikkh, who was one of the protesters against Brij Bhushan, had quit the sport; and another top wrestler, Bajrang Punia, had returned his Padma Shri. Mr Punia and Commonwealth and Asian Games gold medallist Vinesh Phogat had also been at the forefront of the protests against the BJP MP. 

Announcing the suspension, the sports ministry had said the newly elected body “appears to be (in) complete control of former office bearers in complete disregard to the Sports Code”.

It had also said that the panel had made a “hasty announcement” of organising the under-15 and under-20 nationals “without following due procedure and not giving sufficient notice to wrestlers” for preparations.

The ministry has asked the Indian Olympic Association to set up an ad-hoc panel to manage the day-to-day affairs at the Wrestling Federation of India.

Union home minister and the BJP’s chief strategist Amit Shah launched a no-holds barred attack on the Mamata Banerjee today, accusing her MPs of gross misconduct and her government of keeping the state stagnant. The BJP, he claimed, will win more than 35 of the state’s 40 parliamentary seats next year, he added.  

Speaking to the party’s IT cell in Kolkata today, Mr Shah cited Trinamool Congress’s Mahua Moitra, who was recently expelled from the Lok Sabha over a cash-for-query row.

“Didi’s MP shares her password with businessmen in exchange for gifts and now she is trying to safeguard that MP. How many questions were asked about the poor in Bengal? They will never do that because the poor cannot give them expensive gifts,” Amit Shah said.

He then took on Kalyan Banerjee, the Trinamool MP in the eye of the storm for his mimicry of Rajya Sabha chairman and Vice President Jagdeep Dhankhar. “Her MP also mimics the Vice President. Does it behove an MP?” Mr Shah questioned.

Then, in a direct jab at the Chief Minister — known for her simple tastes and lifestyle — he said, “⁠The cut money collected from Bengal is used to buy palatial mansions in foreign countries but the same people roam around here in hawai chappal”. Ms Banerjee is rarely seen in anything except in her trademark white saree and rubber slippers.

Mr Shah’s visit comes as the BJP is pinning its hopes on sweeping Bengal’s parliamentary seats – a goal that stayed out of reach in 2019. The BJP’s chief strategist predicted the party will win more than 35 of Bengal’s 40 seats next year – up from 18 in 2019.

In this, the role of the party’s IT cell will be pivotal, he said.
This, he said, is because the regional media “does not carry the message of the BJP, fearing Didi”.

“⁠If you all social media warriors decide, you can have more reach than any channel or newspaper and no one can stop you from making Modi-ji win. That is the reason you have the biggest responsibilities,” he added.

We became fans of Manjari Fadnnis after her appearance in the 2008 rom-com Jaane Tu…Ya Jaane Na. The actress, recently featured in the widely acclaimed OTT action-thriller, The Freelance. In an exclusive interview with Filmfare following the conclusion of the series, Manjari shared insights about the new season, her character, and more.

Tell us about your character in The Freelancer.

I’m playing this character called Murnal. She’s basically, as we have seen in part one, she is going through a lot herself. I think Mrunal Kamat’s character brings that humanness to Avinash Kamat’s character in the series. My character has a different journey altogether where she is mentally unstable. and because of something that had happened in the past, where she kind of still blames herself for the death of her child. They (Mrunal and Avinaash) have a very beautiful relationship like they have stood together through thick and thin.

You had a great rapport with Mohit Raina in The Freelancer.

I think I had a fantastic rapport with Mohit. He’s a really talented guy and such a warm person to talk to and I’m so happy for him. He’s doing so well for himself. He has this whole poker-face sense of humour and I really enjoyed working with him. He makes the space very comfortable for his co-actors and he’s warm and friendly and sweet to work with.

How hard was it for you to tap into the emotional side of the character?

It was very difficult because I did not know much about dissociative disorder before and what happens to a person and stuff. I had to take a little help from my counsellor. I had a word with her because she had a better knowledge of it. And kind of took a lot of tips from her, like understanding of what a person goes through, what happens apart from that of course I had to kind of take it all from, like how somebody who’s gone through my situation and what way that will affect her life and what her behaviour will be like. I hope I’ve been able to showcase what I had thought and prepared while I was preparing for this role. I had a great time preparing for this role.

What are you feeling since The Freelancer is coming to an end?

I’m really excited about the second part of this coming out because I think it was supposed to be one entire show, right? And it was broken into two parts and everything. And the first part got so much love from the audience. I am of course excited because I have not seen part two but I’ve read it in the script so I know what is going to happen. And it’s going to be a completely edge of the seat thriller.

Your character from Jaane Tu…Ya Jaane Na is still considered iconic…

I get so much love for playing Meghna. It’s just very overwhelming because this was a character I played like 15 years ago. And people still love it and still talk about it. And in fact, it’s become iconic. I think it has a lot to do with the way it was written by Abbas Tyrewala. I think it was a very beautifully written character. It became iconic also because it grew on people. It wasn’t like, you know, when the film was released it hadn’t got as much love. I mean there were like 50-60 per cent of people who absolutely loved Meghna and couldn’t understand why Jai left Meghna. While there were another 40 per cent of people who did not understand the character very much. They didn’t like her but over the years, as people have grown and they’ve seen the film again and again, I think people have understood her better. And they have related to her character better because they have had similar experiences in life which made them understand her better.

What’s next on the cards for you?

So next year, I’ll have this project called Pune Highway, which is likely to be released in the first half, hopefully. So that is a project I’m really looking forward to. It is directed by the director of Barot House, Bugs Bhargava and Rahul Dukuna. It has Jim Sarbh and Amit Sadh. I’m excited about an independent project called Chalti Rahe Zindagi. It was made with a lot of love, with a small crew during the lockdown, and that film has been getting a lot of love from festivals, in fact, we just got a special jury mention at the DC South Asian Film Festival. Then there’s this project by Abbas-Mustan called Penthouse.