Nirmala defends BJP ticket to sexual abuse accused Brij Bhushan's son

New Delhi: Just because Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh was accused in a criminal case, his son need not be denied a party ticket to contest in ongoing Lok Sabha polls, BJP leader and Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said, defending the saffron party’s choice to field the sexual harassment accused’s younger son to contest in UP’s Kaiserganj seat. Brij Bhushan is the sitting MP of the constituency, The Wire reported.

Sitharaman claimed there are many candidates contesting now whose immediate relatives are accused of serious crimes, and the parties they represent did not deny them seats. She added that even children of some people who were convicted are contesting in the polls, but Brij Bhushan is yet to be convicted, and no one can decide on their own that he is guilty, the Finance Minister said in Pune on Saturday.

Following BJP’s decision to field Brij Bhushan’s son as a candidate, Indian wrestlers and Olympic medalists Sakshi Malik and Bajrang Punia surfaced to express their discontent. The two, along with wrestler Vinesh Phogat, were on the frontline in the protest against Brij Bhushan to remove him from the post of head of the Wrestling Federation of India (WFI). He allegedly misused his position to molest, harass and intimidate women wrestlers, the Wire had reported.

According to The Wire, Brij Bhushan has considerable influence in the Kaiserganj constituency, and the BJP did not want to lose his support despite the severity of allegations levelled against him. Also, his older son, Pratik Bhushan, is an MLA in the state.

But Brij Bhushan has been accused of sexual harassment by at least six wrestlers. One of them includes a minor, and a Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act (POCSO Act) case was also registered against him. However, the child’s family withdrew the complaint, reportedly due to pressure to do so.