BJP MP, who foiled Raj Thackeray's UP trip, to share dais with Sharad Pawar in Pune

Pune, Dec 9 (IANS) Firebrand Bharatiya Janata Party MP Brijbhushan Sharan Singh - who once stopped Raj Thackeray's trip to Uttar Pradesh - will attend the finals of the Maharashtra Kesari wrestling tourney here in January 2023, officials said on Friday.

A five-time BJP MP from Kaiserganj, Singh is the President of Wrestling Federation of India (WFI) and committed to attend the grand finale of the prestigous Maharashtra tournament in Pune.

Singh would share the dais with NCP supremo Sharad Pawar, who is a former WFI President and also a veteran sports administrator, at the sports mega-event scheduled January 11-15.

On Friday, Maharashtra State Wrestling Association (MSWA) President Ramdas Tadas, ex-Pune Mayor Murlidhar Mohol and others called on Singh in New Delhi and extended the invite for the event which he accepted.

"I love Maharashtraa and I will definitely attend this tournament," Singh remarked warmly, recalling the services of Chhatrapati Shahu Maharaj for promoting wrestling around the country.

Incidentally, Singh had shot into the limelight in May-June when the Maharashtra Navnirman President Raj Thackeray had announced plans to visit Ayodhya and take darshan of the upcoming Ram Temple there.

However, the BJP MP had warned that he would block Raj Thackeray's trip whether he came by air, road or railway until he apologised to the people for his anti-north Indians stance in the past.

Stopped in the tracks, subsequently Raj Thackeray was compelled to cancel the visit following certain health issues and later he also underwent an operation which grounded him for several months.

Despite the unsavoury past, the MNS is unlikely to protest against Singh's visit to this state next year, party activists indicated.

"There are no orders to restrict the visit. Its for the party leaders to give the instructions and our duty to follow them. If the party had given such an order, Singh would not have been able to set foot in Maharashtra," senior MNS functionary Vasant More claimed.

On Raj Thackeray's aborted visit to Ayodhya seven months ago, More contended that it was owing to his medical issues and not due to the stand of Singh seeking an apology.