Congress slams BJP over Bhushan’s Draupadi remarks

New Delhi : The Congress on Monday termed “horrible” former BJP MP Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh’s remarks that the Hooda family used wrestlers as a wager, just as the Pandavas had put Draupadi at stake, and said if such elements are encouraged in the ruling party, how can one expect women in the country to be safe.

Singh, a former chief of the Wrestling Federation of India (WFI), was last year accused of sexual assault by several female wrestlers, who sat on a protest for weeks demanding a probe against him.

Singh said, “In the gambling that took place in the Mahabharat, Draupadi was put at stake. The Pandavas lost. The country has still not been able to accept their reasons for doing so.”

“The Hooda family put the honour of daughters and sisters at stake. The future generations will not forgive them for this and they will always be held guilty for this,” he added. Asked about Singh’s remarks, Congress’s media and publicity department head Pawan Khera said, “Horrible comment made by Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh. Unfortunately, the BJP is unable to tame him. They need to tame him because it speaks poorly of the ruling party of this country.”

“If such elements are encouraged in the ruling party, how can you expect women to be safe in this country?” Khera told PTI Videos. Vinesh Phogat and Bajrang Punia, an Olympic bronze medallist, along with another Olympic bronze-winner Sakshi Malik, spearheaded the agitation against Singh last year. The former WFI president said, “Bajrang Punia’s mental condition has deteriorated. He had put his wife at stake. I want to ask him why he take part in the Asian Games without trials?”