'Shameful, politics of proxy': opposition slams BJP for fielding Brij Bhushan's son from Kaiserganj

The Congress, the TMC and the Shiv Sena have criticised the BJP for giving a party ticket to Karan Bhushan Singh, the son of former Wrestling Federation of India (WFI) chief Brij Bhushan Singh, accusing the ruling party of rewarding one who is facing charges of sexual harassment of women wrestlers.

Ending weeks of speculation, the BJP on Thursday named Karan Bhushan Singh as its Lok Sabha candidate from the Kaiserganj seat in Uttar Pradesh, replacing his father and incumbent MP Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh, who is facing criminal charges of sexually harassing women wrestlers.

Congress general secretary Jairam Ramesh said, "Just when we thought that the Prajwal Revanna scandal had exposed the depths of the BJP’s depravity, they show that there are always new lows for them to fall to. They have now rewarded Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh, accused of sexual harassment by many of our women wrestlers, with a ticket for his son." "This is a party with no moral compass, led by a man whose only anchor is his desire for boundless power," Ramesh said in a post on X, using the hashtags "#ModiMaafiMaango" and "#HaathBadlegaHalaat".

In a post on X in Hindi, Shiv Sena MP Priyanka Chaturvedi said, "Father Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh's ticket to son. Do you talk of giving justice to women like this?" "You put one's hat on another's head. You are trying to befool public. Shameful," she said.

The Trinamool Congress (TMC) also slammed the BJP for giving the Lok Sabha poll ticket to Brij Bhushan Singh's son.

TMC Rajya Sabha MP Sagarika Ghose said the BJP dropping incumbent MP Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh only to field his son from the Kaiserganj Lok Sabha seat in UP is "shameful" and a case of "politics of proxy".

This also shows that the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) is not ready to condemn the "sexual assault" committed by Brij Bhushan Singh, she said.

"That the BJP has given a ticket to Karan Singh, who is the son of its former star MP Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh, is shameful and disgraceful. Mr Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh has been accused of serious sexual assault by none other than India's Olympic medal winning women wrestlers," she said.

Brij Bhushan Singh, who stepped down from the post amid a raging protest against him over the sexual harassment allegations by women wrestlers, has denied the charges. The Delhi Police has filed a charge sheet against him in the court.

"He has also been accused under the POCSO (Protection of Children from Sexual Offences) Act for sexual offences against children... To give a ticket to Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh's son is nothing but the politics of proxy. Karan Singh is a proxy for his father," Ghose said.

"It shows that the BJP is not willing to condemn the sexual assault committed by Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh" and its slogans on women empowerment are "hollow", she said.

The BJP's slogans of "Nari Shakti, Nari Samman and Beti Bachao" are all "hollow, shallow, meaningless and bogus", Ghose said and added that "it says it stands for Nari Samman but has given a ticket to a proxy of someone who is accused of serious sexual assault and assault against women".

"Second, BJP says it's against Parivarwad or family politics... What is this but dynastic politics? The fact is, Mr Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh's other son is already an MLA. Now, his other son has also got an MP ticket," she said.