Wrestler Babita Phogat's resignation from Haryana Police accepted, likely to contest state polls
Chandigarh, Sep 12: The resignation of international wrestler Babita Phogat from Haryana Police has been accepted and the grappler, who had last month joined the BJP, is likely to contest the upcoming state Assembly polls.
Babita and her father Mahavir Phogat, a noted wrestling coach, had joined the BJP on August 12.
The 29-year-old sub-inspector with Haryana Police had submitted her resignation a month ago, which was accepted on September 10, Surinder Pal Singh, Commandant, 5th Battalion, Haryana Armed Police, Madhuban, told PTI on Thursday.
"Babita Phogat's resignation was received a month ago and there is a process which follows before it is accepted. The resignation has been accepted now," he said.
Babita had been appointed in Haryana Police under the sports quota by the then Bhupinder Singh Hooda-led Congress government in 2013.
Speculation are rife that Babita will be given a ticket by the BJP either from Badhra or Dadri in Charkhi Dadri district to contest the state Assembly polls, which are slated to be held in October.
"It is for the party to decide on giving her a ticket to contest. But if she is given a chance to contest, she will give her 100 per cent like the way she has made her contribution in the sports field," a Phogat family member said.
Babita and Mahavir Phogat had joined the Bharatiya Janata Party in the presence of Sports and Youth Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju, party's general secretary in charge of Haryana Anil Jain and its state chief Subhash Barala in New Delhi.
The Phogat household became popular nationwide following the success of Bollywood film 'Dangal', based on the lives of Phogat sisters, all of them wrestlers, and their father who coached them against all odds.
Mahavir Phogat, who was chief of the Jannayak Janata Party's sports cell, switched sides from the JJP, which was floated last year by former Hisar MP Dushyant Chautala following a vertical split in the Indian National Lok Dal (INLD).
He had earlier said his family was "impressed" with the policies and programmes of the Modi government.
He had also praised the Centre's decision to revoke provisions of Article 370, terming it as a "correct decision".
"Scrapping Article 370 and several other decisions taken in national interest by the Central government have impressed me and millions of countrymen like me," Mahavir Phogat, a Dronacharya awardee," he told PTI.
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Iran Foreign Minister Araghchi begins 3-day India visit
New Delhi (PTI): Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi began a three-day official visit to India on Wednesday, marking the first high-level diplomatic engagement from Tehran since the outbreak of the US-Israel war with Iran more than two months ago.
Araghchi is visiting India primarily to attend a two-day meeting of BRICS foreign ministers beginning Thursday.
The Iranian foreign minister is set to hold wide-ranging bilateral talks with his Indian counterpart S Jaishankar, focusing on the escalating crisis in West Asia.
The situation surrounding the Strait of Hormuz is expected to feature prominently. The Indian side is likely to press for the safe passage of remaining merchant vessels through the strategic waterway, according to people familiar with the matter.
Araghchi and other foreign ministers of the BRICS member states are scheduled to call on Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday.
"A very warm welcome to Foreign Minister of Iran, Seyed Abbas Araghchi, on his arrival in New Delhi for the BRICS Foreign Ministers' Meeting," External Affairs Ministry spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said on 'X'.
The escalating crisis in West Asia and its impact on the global energy supply chain are expected to dominate deliberations at the BRICS foreign ministers' meeting.
India, as the chair of BRICS, is hosting the conclave of the foreign ministers ahead of the annual summit of the grouping in September.
It will be interesting to see if the foreign ministerial conclave manages to produce a consensus statement on the conflict in West Asia.
Sharp differences among the member states over the US-Israel war on Iran stalled India's efforts to build a consensus position on the conflict during a meeting of the grouping's deputy foreign ministers and special envoys on Middle East and North America last month.
No consensus statement on the conflict could be reached largely due to differences between the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Iran. The two neighbouring countries have sparred in recent weeks over Iran's alleged attacks on energy infrastructure in the UAE.
"The active presence of the Islamic Republic of Iran in mechanisms such as BRICS represents a strategic choice to strengthen genuine multilateralism, expand equitable cooperation, and participate in shaping a more just order in international relations," Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister Kazem Gharibabadi said on 'X'.
"The BRICS foreign ministers' meeting in New Delhi can be an important opportunity for dialogue on the future of Global South cooperation, reforming international economic governance, developing independent trade, strengthening financial and banking ties, and reducing countries' dependence on discriminatory and unilateral mechanisms," he said.
Gharibabadi said Iran, with its geopolitical, energy, transit, scientific, and human capacities, can play an effective role in the BRICS agenda for balanced development, economic security, regional connectivity, and amplifying the voice of independent countries.
The Iranian deputy foreign minister is in New Delhi for the BRICS meeting.
"In this path, opposition to America's unilateral coercive measures and their illegal and anti-development effects is an inseparable part of defending economic justice and the rights of nations to development," he said.
After the West Asia conflict escalated, Iran urged India, as the current BRICS chair, to leverage its "independent role" to halt the US-Israel hostilities against Iran.
Global oil and gas prices have surged after Iran virtually blocked the Strait of Hormuz, a narrow shipping lane between the Persian Gulf and the Gulf of Oman that handles roughly 20 per cent of global oil and LNG (liquefied natural gas).
BRICS, originally comprising Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa, expanded in 2024 to include Egypt, Ethiopia, Iran, and the UAE, with Indonesia joining in 2025.
It has emerged as an influential grouping as it brings together 11 major emerging economies of the world, representing around 49.5 per cent of the global population, around 40 per cent of the global GDP and around 26 per cent of the global trade.
The BRICS foreign ministers held their last meeting on the margins of the 80th session of the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA 80) in September 2025.
