Fresh protest erupts in Indian wrestling; this time against Bajrang, Sakshi and Vinesh
New Delhi, Jan 3: The ongoing crisis in Indian wrestling took a new twist on Wednesday when hundreds of junior wrestlers assembled at Jantar Mantar for a symbolic three-hour protest against the loss of one crucial year of their careers, a situation for which they blamed top grapplers Bajrang Punia, Sakshi Malik and Vinesh Phogat.
Loaded in buses, the junior wrestlers arrived from different parts of Uttar Pradesh, Haryana and Delhi, catching the police unawares.
Close to 300 of them came from Arya Samaj Akhara in Chhaprauli, Baghpat while many others came from the Virender Wrestling Academy in Narela. The security personnel struggled to control them as they shouted slogans against Punia, Malik and Phogat.
Braving cold conditions, the junior wrestlers arrived at Jantar Mantar at 11am and left after three hours with a warning that if the government does not lift the WFI suspension within 10 days, they will start returning their awards.
The protesters were carrying banners that read: 'UWW (United World Wrestling) save our wrestling from these 3 wrestlers'.
Another banner read: 'Kar Diya Desh Ki Kushti Ko Barbaad: Sakshi Bajrang, Vinesh Phogat'.
Soon after the election of new office-bearers, the Wrestling Federation of India (WFI) announced the hosting of the Under-15 and Under-20 Nationals in Gonda, UP but the ministry suspended the body, leading to the cancellation of the proposed tournament.
Several wrestlers, who could have competed in the junior categories for one last time, lost the opportunity.
"It was a symbolic protest. We are giving 10 days' time to the government to revoke the suspension of the new WFI and allow it to hold age group nationals.
"If they don't do it, we will start returning our Arjuna and other awards to the government just like Bajrang and Vinesh have done," said Greco-Roman wrestler Sunil Rana, who is an Arjuna awardee and a bronze medallist from the 2023 Asian Games.
Muzaffarnagar stadium coach Pradeep Kumar said, "More than 90 per cent of Akharas (training centres) in UP are with us in this protest. There are only three wrestlers on one side and lakhs on the other. They have spoilt the careers of lakhs of wrestlers across the country."
"These people have no respect for national awards. They are leaving them on the roads," Kumar added, referring to Punia and Phogat returning their government honours.
"They kept saying that they were protesting for women and junior wrestlers but they have spoilt careers of lakhs after earning all the laurels. Their protest is only to get top WFI posts. Once that happens, they will stop all protests," added Kumar.
Ironically, almost a year back at the same protest site, the top three wrestlers had managed to draw huge support for their cause when they called for the arrest of former WFI chief Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh, accusing him of sexually harassing women wrestlers.
Thousands of people from different sections of society, including farmers' groups, social workers, politicians, women's groups and members of the wrestling fraternity, came out to support Sakshi, Vinesh and Bajrang.
The three are now facing protests from within their community, with those assembled at Jantar Mantar accusing them of ruining their careers.
"I have given 18-20 years to the sport. Only I know what I have gone through.A lot of wrong things are being said on social media. I have come to know about this protest from you (media). This is Brij Bhushan's propaganda. These are all his men who are protesting at jantar mantar," said Sakshi when her reaction was sought on junior wrestlers' protest.
Meanwhile, Bajrang said he "won't lend any credence" to the Wednesday's protest by commenting on it.
Source close to Tokyo Games bronze medallist Bajrang said, "These are all Brij Bhushan's supporters. Where were they when we were sitting on protest. They did not think about wrestling then?."
Since January 2023, national camps and competitions have been on hold as the WFI has been suspended twice and an ad-hoc panel is running the sport.
"An entire year for these junior wrestlers has gone waste. The new WFI had taken the decision for the welfare of the wrestlers who had not seen even district or state-level competitions, leave aside the nationals," said Vivek Malik who belongs to the Arya Samaj Akhara in Baghpat.
"But the new body was suspended. This body was elected on the instructions of the court but it wasn't allowed to work and prove itself even for three days. The suspension should be lifted and the WFI should be allowed to function.
"They had the task of completing the wrestling calender before December 31, so what wrong did they do to warrant the suspension?" he asked.
Those protesting on Wednesday demanded that the suspended WFI be restored after disbanding the ad-hoc panel, which has been appointed by the sports ministry.
The protesters also defaced the placards bearing images of Punia, Malik and Phogat before trampling them.
In a memorandum, Sunil Rana, coach Naresh Dahiya, wrestlers Nikki and Varun Gujjar apart from Rajendra 'pehlwan', demanded that "the government should listen to not just the three wresters but the entire fraternity.
"We request that the government lifts WFI suspension and take strict action against the wrestlers who insulted the government honours by leaving their awards on the road."
Punia had returned his Padma Shri while Vinesh had returned her Arjuna and Khel Ratna awards, saying that these awards mean nothing when they are struggling to get justice.
The ad-hoc panel announced that it will organise U15 and U20 Nationals within six weeks in Gwalior and advised the protesting wrestlers to continue training and practising for Nationals.
Let the Truth be known. If you read VB and like VB, please be a VB Supporter and Help us deliver the Truth to one and all.
Delhi CM Rekha Gupta accuses Mamata Banerjee of stalling SIR; TMC hits back
Kolkata (PTI): Alleging that her West Bengal counterpart Mamata Banerjee had approached the Supreme Court to stall the SIR exercise to prevent the identification of infiltrators, Delhi Chief Minister Rekha Gupta on Sunday claimed that the people of the state have made up their minds to dislodge the Trinamool Congress from power.
The TMC countered strongly, urging Gupta to "look into her own backyard" and accused her of making absurd allegations against the TMC government without checking facts.
Addressing participants at the 'Nari Sankalp Yatra' organised by the BJP's women's wing at Science City auditorium here, Gupta alleged that the "hands-off" and appeasement policies of the TMC government had allowed thousands of infiltrators to enter the state in recent years.
She claimed that this had put a strain on basic rights such as access to water, electricity, ration, education, livelihood and the right to vote for genuine citizens.
"She wants to perpetuate this and hence is trying to stall the SIR exercise, which aims at identifying and deporting infiltrators. Imagine a chief minister going to the apex court to argue against an exercise meant to ensure free and fair polls," Gupta said.
The BJP leader alleged that appeasement politics had reached an "alarming level" under the TMC regime.
Raising concerns over women's safety, she claimed that women in the state were not secure despite having a woman chief minister.
Referring to the rape-murder of a woman doctor at RG Kar Hospital, Gupta alleged that the state government had failed to respond adequately to such crimes.
She also referred to the alleged rape of a woman medic in Durgapur and another law student on a Kolkata college campus, claiming that criminals had been emboldened to commit brutalities against women.
She alleged that in crimes against women, overall crime incidents and child marriages, West Bengal remained among the top -- "a slur on a state which once led intellectual and social movements and set examples for the rest of the country," she said.
Criticising the state government's welfare initiatives, she said schemes such as Kanyashree were built on "false claims" and asserted that women needed security rather than assurances.
Accusing the state government of blocking central schemes, Gupta alleged that funds worth "lakhs of crores of rupees" had not reached the poor due to non-implementation of programmes such as Ayushman Bharat, PM Awas Yojana and Jal Jeevan Mission by the state.
"You are only interested in renaming projects and taking credit," she said.
Gupta also alleged that the education sector in the state had been adversely affected, saying several state-run schools had closed due to a shortage of teachers and that the government was opposed to the National Education Policy.
Drawing a comparison with BJP-ruled Delhi, Gupta said, "People have already voted out 'Bhaia' (a reference to former Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal). Now it is your turn to bid farewell to 'Didi'." Calling upon women to resist what she termed "strong-arm tactics", she urged them to assert their strength, invoking the imagery of Goddess Durga.
"Bengal has the right to live with dignity, and women have the right to live with dignity," she added.
Reacting to Gupta's allegations, West Bengal Women and Child Welfare minister Shashi Panja accused her of making "absurd allegations" against the Trinamool Congress government ahead of elections.
Panja alleged that during Gupta's tenure in Delhi, several incidents had raised serious concerns, including reports of missing young women and a blast near the Red Fort.
She also criticised the air pollution situation in the national capital, claiming that people were struggling to breathe.
The TMC leader said that despite being in power for a year, Gupta was making "tall claims" instead of addressing key issues in Delhi.
Panja further alleged that the Delhi CM visited West Bengal during elections to "peddle false allegations" against the state government.
Rebutting Gupta, the TMC said in a post on X said, "Madam why did you go off-script again? For your edification, here are the cold, hard facts: In total cases of crimes (IPC + SLL), Bengal ranks a respectable 15th, far safer than BJP-ruled Uttar Pradesh, Maharashtra, and Gujarat, which languish near the bottom."
"In overall crime rate, Bengal sits comfortably at 28th. Who's second? Your own Delhi. Double Engine Gujarat and Haryana grab 4th and 5th as top-tier crime havens," the TMC said.
"In child marriage, Assam again takes the shameful pole position. And yet you dare lecture Bengal? Stop embarrassing yourself, stop the hypocrisy, and maybe fix the rotting mess in your own backyard before pointing fingers at a state that's outperforming your disasters on every key metric," the TMC countered.
