WFI Chief, Sanjay Singh Suspended
Sanjay Singh Suspended: On Sunday, the Central government announced the suspension of the Wrestling Federation of India (WFI)’s newly elected governing body, citing the organization’s constitution and procedural norms as being violated in the announcement of the national wrestling tournaments for under-15 and under-20 wrestlers. The suspension occurred just a few days after WFI president Sanjay Singh and other BJP MP Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh’s followers were reportedly elected to the ruling body.
Demand of dismissal of former WFI Chief Brij Bhushan
A number of top wrestlers organized a large-scale demonstration earlier this year to demand the dismissal of former WFI chief Brij Bhushan on charges of sexual harassment against female wrestlers. The claims forced the BJP MP to resign, and he is currently dealing with legal action.
Sakshi Malik, an ace wrestler, resigned last week due to Bhushan’s supporter Sanjay Singh being elected to the WFI. Later, the BJP MP announced that the nationals would be held in Gonda, Uttar Pradesh, from December 28 to December 31.
Why was Sanjay Singh suspended
The way they were announced was questioned today by the ministry of sports. “This announcement is hasty, without giving sufficient notice to wrestlers who are to take part in the said nationals and without following the provisions of the constitution of WFI. As per clause 3 (e) of the preamble of the constitution of WFI, the object of the WFI, among others, is to arrange the holding of Senior, Junior and Sub Junior National Championships as per UWW Rules at places selected by the Executive Committee,” it said in a statement.
“Such decisions are to be taken by the Executive Committee, before which agendas are required to be placed for consideration. As per Article XI of the WFI constitution under the Heading ‘Notices and Quorum for Meetings’, the minimum notice period for EC meetings is 15 clear days and the quorum is of 1/3rd of representatives. Even for Emergency EC meetings, the minimum notice period is 7 clear days with a quorum requirement of 1/3rd of representatives,” the ministry added.
The reason for suspension does not mention the protest
It did not, however, address the wrestlers’ protest. It claimed that there had been no prior notice of the governing body meeting. “Further, in terms of Article X (d) of the Constitution of WFI, it is the Secretary General of WFI, who has been made responsible for carrying out the general business of the Federation, keeping the minutes of the meetings, maintaining all the records of the Federation, calling the meetings of the General Council and the Executive Committee. It seems the Secretary-General has not been involved in the said meeting of EC, which was held without any notice or quorum,” it stated further.
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National Sports Development Code broken
The National Sports Development Code and the WFI constitution were allegedly broken by the WFI governing body, according to the sports ministry.
“The decisions made by the newly elected executive body of the WFI demonstrate a blatant disregard for the established legal and procedural norms, violating both the WFI’s constitutional provisions and the National Sports Development Code. The newly elected body appeared to be in complete control of former office bearers in complete disregard to the Sports Code. The business of the Federation is being run from the premises controlled by former office bearers,” the ministry added.
Sakshi questioning the decision
Malik questioned on Saturday why the nationals were being held in Gonda, an area under the MP’s purview.
“I have given up wrestling but I am worried since last night about those junior women wrestlers who are calling me and telling me that the junior nationals are going to be held from 28th and the new wrestling federation has decided to hold it in Nandani Nagar, Gonda. Gonda is the area of Brijbhushan. Now imagine in what circumstances the junior women wrestlers will go there to wrestle. Is there no other place in this country to host nationals other than Nandani Nagar?,” Sakshi wrote on X.
Leading the wrestlers’ protest last week was the ace wrestler Bajrang Punia, who symbolic returned Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Padma Shri in response to Sanjay Singh’s election.
