Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman has defended the Bharatiya Janata Party’s (BJP) decision to field Karan Saran, the son of Brij Bhushan Saran, from Kaiserganj in Uttar Pradesh. Brij Bhushan Saran, the former Wrestling Federation of India (WFI) chief, is facing an inquiry over allegations of sexual harassment by women wrestlers.
Sitharaman stated that no allegations against Brij Bhushan have been proven. “Nothing has been proven about it,” she said. “Even if he is convicted, I would say that you want to pass the blame onto the son. Convicted people’s children have been entertained by so many parties,” she added.
She highlighted that many individuals whose family members have faced serious accusations have received tickets from various parties. “How many people are there whose fathers, mothers, or uncles have been accused of serious crimes, but they have still got tickets? All parties do it. Even children of people who have been convicted get tickets,” Sitharaman emphasized.
Regarding Brij Bhushan Saran, she stressed that nothing has been proven against him yet. “If it was, you could have asked us why. How can we decide on our own that he is doshi (guilty)?” she said.
When asked about Brij Bhushan Saran’s withdrawal from contesting from Kaiserganj, Sitharaman rejected the notion that the party was interfering with due processes. She stated, “We did not want to interfere with any due processes.”
Sitharaman also addressed the ‘sex video’ case involving Prajwal Revanna, the sitting MP from Hassan and BJP’s Lok Sabha candidate. She alleged that the case is with the Karnataka government, led by the Congress party, which has failed to act on it for an entire year.
“It is being claimed that the Congress has been sitting on the pen drive over the years, but now the BJP is made to answer because the party (JDS) is in alliance with us,” Sitharaman said.
She criticized the Karnataka government for prioritizing political considerations over women’s safety and attempting to blame the BJP. “The state ministers knew what was there in the pen drive. They did not think the safety and security of women were a priority. They thought that the Vokkaliga vote might go from their hands and decided to remain silent till the time the first phase of Lok Sabha gets over. Now they are making it a big issue and pushing it, which is typical of Congress and shows their hypocrisy,” she said.
Sitharaman highlighted that the Karnataka government is now writing to Prime Minister Narendra Modi about the case, asking to issue look-out notices against Revanna and bring him back. “The Home Minister of India clearly told the Karnataka government to take all the action they want. It shows the total political hypocrisy of Congress,” she concluded.
