The election to the Wrestling Federation of India (WFI) have been delayed by 11 days from its original schedule of June 30 set by Union Sports minister Anurag Thakur following a meeting with protesting wrerstlers on June 7.
An ad-hoc committee nominated by the Indian Olympic Association (IOA) decided to delay the process by five days owing to the disputes within the state bodies, whose members will vote in the election.
Also Read: Delhi Police files closure report seeking cancellation of POCSO case against Brij Bhushan
According to The Indian Express, some members have raised an objection over the possibility of former WFI chief Brij Bhushan Singh’s family members being allowed to vote, alleging they were “illegally appointed” to the state association.
The objections have been raised over the inclusion of Brij Bhushan’s son-in-law Vishal Singh in the voters’ list,The Indian Express reported. Vishal is the president of the Bihar Wrestling Association (BWA).
The three member ad-hoc committee was approached by disaffiliated state bodies in Maharashtra, Haryana, Telangana, Rajasthan and Himachal Pradesh. The state bodies alleged that they have been wrongly disaffiliated by the WFI under Brij Bhushan.
Indian wrestlers including Sakshi Malik, Bajrang Punia and Vinesh Phogat, have been protesting against WFI chief Brij Bhushan Singh since May 3 alleging that he had sexually harassed women wrestlers.
The delay means the WFI elections will now be held on July 11. During the meeting with Sports minister it was decided that no one from Brij Bhushan’s family will be allowed to contest for key posts.
