Congress, BJP on same page in Narsingh case

For once the Congress and the BJP seem to be on the same page. Leaders from both the parties have demanded a probe into the doping scandal involving wrestler Narsingh Yadav. Raising fears of foul play in the doping scandal, Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis on Tuesday hinted the wrestler may have been “tricked or framed”, while asking the Union Sports Minister to look into the case.

“There is a widespread belief that he has been tricked or framed by some vested interests however it’s difficult to substantiate the same without proper investigation,” Fadnavis wrote in a letter addressed to Sports Minister Vijay Goel.

On the other hand alleging a conspiracy to disqualify Indian medal hopefuls from the Rio Olympics, Congress MP Pramod Tiwari on Tuesday demanded a probe if wrestler Narsingh Yadav and two other athletes were found to have been given banned drug-spiked food without their knowledge. Raising the issue during Zero Hour in the Rajya Sabha, he alleged that the banned substance was mixed in ‘dal fry’ in the Sports Authority of India (SAI) kitchen and a thorough probe has to be carried out to get to the root of the issue.

If the banned substance was consumed by the athlete unknowingly, then he should be given a fair chance to represent the country. But if he did it knowingly, then he should be punished, Tiwari said. India’s build-up to the Rio Olympic Games was rocked when medal hopeful Narsingh Yadav and two other athletes tested positive for a banned substance.