Sports Ministry suspends the Wrestling Federation of India; it may mean end of the road for Brij Bhushan Singh

After grappling for long with the Opposition's charges and public sentiment against Wrestling Federation of India (WFI) ex-president Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh, the Government has declared the election of its new president and Brij Bhushan's aide Sanjay Singh null and void, besides suspending the federation. The Sports Ministry, responsible for regulating the national sports bodies, took the unprecedented step after the WFI hit the headlines for a long time for the wrong reasons. Indicating that it was endgame for Brij Bhushan, the Ministry claimed that even the new wrestling body was under the influence of a former WFI chief, violating the National Sports Code. Immediately after the suspension order came, Brij Bhushan apparently took the Government's hint and declared his disengagement from the sport. The controversy surrounding Brij Bhushan includes allegations of sexual harassment by top wrestlers such as Bajrang Punia, Vinesh Phogat and Sakshi Malik. Punia even returned his Padma Shri award in protest against Sanjay Singh's election while Sakshi Malik announced her retirement from wrestling for the same reason. The controversy began when the wrestling federation initiated the process of selecting a new president after allegations against Brij Bhushan surfaced. The move was met with anticipation and excitement as the wrestling community eagerly awaited the appointment of a leader who could guide the federation to new heights. However, the selection process quickly turned controversial due to allegations of favouritism, lack of transparency and violation of WFI's own guidelines.

Given the long agitation by sportspersons for removing Brij Bhushan from WFI's top post, the Ministry's decision is a step in the right direction, though rather late in the day. However, it does not augur well for autonomous institutions and sets a bad precedent. The move has sparked a heated debate about the Government's involvement in internal affairs of sports federations. While some argue that the Ministry's intervention was necessary to uphold the principles of fairness and transparency, others view it as an infringement on the autonomy of sports organisations. Given the structure of our sporting bodies, one cannot overlook the fact that they are highly politicised bodies; be it cricket or athletics, they are governed and managed by the party in power. So, the autonomy of such institutions is actually a farce. The erstwhile WFI president did not budge from his position despite a lot of hue and cry and an impending FIR over his alleged conduct in utter disregard to Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s cherished goal of “Beti bachao, Beti Padhao.” Now that he is gone and it is likely that a deserving sportsperson would be at the helm, things should improve at WFI and all the agony wrestlers went through would be adequately compensated. However, the whole set of events that unfolded in the months gone by gives a glimpse of the rot that runs in our sports bodies.