Top wrestlers from around the country have been protesting at the Jantar Mantar for the past two weeks, seeking Brij Bhushan’s dismissal as WFI president and his arrest.
Protesting wrestlers are expecting that the khap mahapanchayat slated for May 7 at Jantar Mantar will be a tremendous success, gaining them more support in their fight against Wrestling Federation of India (WFI) chief Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh.
Top wrestlers from around the country, including Bajrang Punia, Sakshi Malik, and Vinesh Phogat, have been protesting at the Jantar Mantar in Delhi for the past two weeks, seeking Brij Bhushan’s dismissal as WFI chief and his arrest for alleged sexual harassment of female grapplers.
“Today is the 14th day of our sit-in protest at Jantar Mantar. The fact is you guys (supporters) are here and we are here too. We would like to thank all who are sitting with us here and supporting us. We would like to thank the entire country for standing with us in this fight for justice,” said Vinesh
“We hope we will achieve success in this fight so that truth prevails,” Vinesh asked people to be calm on Sunday so that bad actors do not hijack the demonstration. Read Also: ‘Our success depends on a peaceful demonstration’: Vinesh Phogat ahead of Sunday’s mahapanchayat
“Tomorrow, a lot of people are expected to join us from villages… khap panchayats, kisan and mazdoor unions, student organisations to support us. We appeal to everyone to be peaceful. Our success depends on a peaceful demonstration. We also request all who will come tomorrow to cooperate with authorities and police,” said
“We also request the police not to stop our supporters tomorrow.” Bajrang, an Olympic medalist, has called on his countrymen to march in sympathy with the protesting grapplers on Sunday.
“We request all Indians to come out with a candlelight march at 7 pm on May 7,” he said.
Sakshi Malik, another Olympic medalist wrestler, stated that they had yet to decide on their next line of action because their lawyers are still working on it.
She stated that the choice to seek a lower court, as mandated by the Supreme Court, can be made only after the Delhi Police expedites the investigation and records all complainants’ statements.
“We have discussed with our lawyers. Our statements are yet to be recorded, we have been waiting for that. The police has been given a deadline to complete recording of statements within a time frame. Once the statement is recorded, only then the case can proceed further. We request the police to record our statements as soon as possible,” she said.
When asked if Sports Minister Anurag Thakur had approached them, she replied: There is no approach from his side. He already knows our demands, so it doesn’t make sense to meet him again. If he wants to talk to us, we will definitely talk.” According to Bajrang, the two committees constituted on Saturday have complete authority to determine their future course of action.
The wrestlers organised two committees on Friday to advise them on the next steps in their struggle against Brij Bhushan.
“We have formed two committees and whatever they decide we will abide by that. The entire framework of the protest will be decided by the committee.”
