The convoy is yours, the leader is yours,

You publish a lie as truth, the newspaper is yours,

Where to complain against you,

The government is yours, the governor is also yours!!

Vinesh Phogat on X

Vinesh Phogat, who had been hauled off Delhi’s streets along with other protesters two years ago by police, has once again given voice to the helplessness of those seeking justice as Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh, former BJP parliamentarian and Wrestling Federation of India chief accused of sexual assault by multiple wrestlers, brought out “victory rallies” in Uttar Pradesh.

Brij led a hail of SUVs in Gonda and Ayodhya on Tuesday in a show of strength after a Delhi court dropped charges under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act (Pocso) against him, the impunity of which forced Olympian wrestlers Vinesh and Bajrang Punia to break their silence on Wednesday.

Vinesh and Bajrang had been the faces of the movement against Brij, for which the sportspersons had to face the might of the State and a vicious smear campaign while the accused politician faced no action from either the BJP or the administration.

Brij had in 2023 been accused by six women wrestlers, including a minor, of sexual abuse. The minor withdrew the case following alleged pressure.

Vinesh, now a Congress MLA from Julana in Haryana, took to social media on Wednesday to air her despair by posting a poem in Hindi that laid bare the intransigence and insensitivity of a system that had earlier forced fellow wrestler Sakshi Malik to symbolically hang up her boots in public and retire and the protesters to try to immerse their medals in the Ganga.

Brij’s son was given a ticket by the BJP to contest the Lok Sabha polls last year.

Bajrang, who is also associated with the Congress since 2024, wrote in Hindi: “Brij Bhushan Singh is doing a road show after being relieved of Pocso charges and displaying it as his victory, whereas the cases filed by six women wrestlers are still going on in court.

“The minor wrestler backtracked under pressure from Brij Bhushan when the wrestlers were protesting (in New Delhi in 2023). But she had already recorded her statement in court once. Brij Bhushan is still mounting pressure on the six women wrestlers to withdraw the cases against him. He may be planning to take out yet another road show to display his power after suppressing the victims of sexual harassment. At times, I feel the rule of law is being dwarfed by goondas.”

The six wrestlers had collectively filed cases against the BJP muscleman from east Uttar Pradesh, accusing him of repeated sexual harassment and intimidation at training camps and during tournaments across the world.

Six-time MP Brij’s first road show — a cavalcade of 50 cars — on Tuesday was from his residence in Gonda to Nandini Mata Mandir. He offered prayers at the temple and told reporters that “the conspirators have failed to trap me in false cases”. A large number of his followers were carrying BJP flags. His youngest son, Kaiserganj MP Karan Bhushan Singh, accompanied him. Brij’s eldest son, Prateek Bhushan, is the BJP MLA of Gonda.

In Ayodhya later in the day, Brij led a convoy of 40 cars from the airport to the Hanumangarhi temple, where he paid obeisance to the god and told reporters: “I am a bhakt of Lord Hanuman.”

“When the allegations were made on January 18, 2023, I said it was a lie, and everything I said has been proven true. Laws to prevent harassment are being misused today. I have great faith in the judiciary,” he said.

Brij, whose 2019 election affidavit mentions that a dozen cases of attempt to murder, dacoity, rioting with deadly weapons and causing grievous injury are pending against him, alleged that laws intended to protect women, Dalits and victims of dowry harassment were being misused. “I’m not against such laws. They are important, but there is a growing trend of using them to ruin lives and settle personal scores. From the sacred land of Ayodhya, I demand that the government find a way to stop the misuse of sexual harassment laws,” he added.

His followers lit firecrackers and distributed sweets in Gonda, Balrampur and Ayodhya.

In January 2023, 30 wrestlers, including Vinesh, Bajrang, Sakshi and Anshu Malik, had organised a week-long sit-in at Jantar Mantar in New Delhi against Brij. They again sat there from April 23 to June 25 that year, demanding action against him. But the central government and the BJP never appeared to show any inclination to punish him. Although Brij quit the post of chairman of the wrestling federation, he ensured the election of his associate Sanjay Singh to the post in December 2023.

The police had on several occasions publicly dragged and thrashed the protesting wrestlers and allegedly intimidated them. Some of them were detained and charged with rioting and creating disorder in the national capital.