Unfortunate that UWW suspended WFI membership: Congress' Sandeep Dikshit

NEW DELHI: Congress leader Sandeep Dikshit on Thursday slammed the BJP after the United World Wrestling (UWW) suspended the membership of the Wrestling Federation of India (WFI) over its failure to conduct elections, terming it "unfortunate".

Stating that the wrestlers have been doing well in the sports, he accused the saffron party for making the Federation a "family enterprise".

Speaking to IANS, Dikshit -- a former Lok Sabha MP -- said, "It is very unfortunate as the wrestlers have been doing well in the sports and they were winning medals on the international platforms."

Everything was going well, he said, adding that the Indian wrestlers were expected to perform well in the upcoming Olympic games, he added.

"However, I am surprised that as BJP itself has said that federations should be independent and if they saw any Congress leaders in those bodies, then they would talk about morality and clean sports. They themselves brought one of their favorite officer into BCCI and when the WFI has become one family enterprise, then where is the same morality which they used to preach?" Diskhsit asked.

His remarks came after the UWW on Thursday suspended the membership of WFI over its failure to conduct elections.

When asked about AAP being part of the INDIA alliance and many leaders including him not liking the idea of their inclusion in Delhi, he said, "Our issue is if we get on state wise alliances then on which issues we will go into elections? Everyone knows my views on the Arvind Kejriwal government."

"They have ruined Delhi and on every parameter Delhi has failed, there is rampant corruption, whose stories will be known for years. So our concern is, if the alliance takes shape then will it be based on national issues or state issues. Thus till the time these issues are not addressed questions will arise," the son of three time Delhi Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit added.

It is worth mentioning that AAP is also part of the Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance (INDIA). However, Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal during his recent Chhattisgarh trip hailed his government's education model, which drew sharp reactions from the Congress.

To another question about the BJP claims of hailing its government's role in the space programmes, the Congress leader said that first Prime Minister Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru had vision, as he laid the foundation stone for India's space programmes as he prioritized it along with the other needs of the country despite grappling with challenges.

He also said that many of the former Prime Ministers had played an important role in shaping the development of the country and they kept on fuelling the programmes besides the important role played by the scientists, engineers.

He explained that in the 60s we didn't have that much money so we spent as per the needs, and years later whenever there was a requirement the government kept on giving the funds for the space programme.

"This is not a numbers game, it is about who made the technology, who laid the foundation stone for these things and thus most of the credit will go to the first Prime Minister Nehru and rest to all other Prime Ministers. So if (BJP president) JP Nadda says that credit goes to Narendra Modi, then we too will keep our views," Dikshit added.

He also slammed the government for using the ED and the CBI for targetting the political opponents.

He said that the credibility of the agencies should not be questioned, but the way in which for the last nine years the way in which these agencies have been used gives a completely different picture.

"They only go to places with their bias or where the BJP can be benefitted during elections. So we view the ED actions with a lot of sorrow," Dikshit added.

Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel will be addressing a press conference at the party headquarters over the ED searches at several locations in the state, including some of the officers.