Vinesh Phogat to return Khel Ratna and Arjuna Award
New Delhi, Dec 26: Star wrestler Vinesh Phogat on Tuesday decided to return her Khel Ratna and Arjuna award to the Prime Minister, saying that such honours have become meaningless in the current situation where the grapplers are struggling badly for justice.
Phogat, the two-time World Championship medal winner, announced her decision in her letter penned for Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
In the letter posted on X, Phogat said their lives are not like those "fancy government advertisements" that talk about women empowerment and upliftment.
"The Major Dhyan Chand Khel Ratna and Arjuna awards don't have any meaning in my life now. Every woman in this country wants to lead a dignified life. So PM sir I want to return my Dhyan Chand and Arjun award to you so that these awards don't become a burden on us in our endeavour to lead a dignified life," she wrote in her letter.
Vinesh was conferred with the Khel Ratna, the highest sports honour in India, in 2020 while she received the Arjuna Award in 2016.
Phogat's decision comes days after Olympic medallist Bajrang Punia and Deafylmpics champion Virender Singh Yadav returned their Padma Shri awards despite the government suspending newly elected WFI.
Sanjay Singh was elected as Wrestling Federation of India's chief last week. He is an associate of Brij Bhushan Singh Sharan and the wrestlers did not want any one close to the BJP MP entering the WFI.
Brij Bhushan was accused of sexual harassment of several women wrestlers by Phogat, Bajrang Punia and Sakshi Malik. They had held a long drawn protest at Jantar Mantar early this year.
The matter is being in a Delhi court.
The Sports Ministry said it has already done a lot and will again try to convince them to review their decisions.
"We have already suspended the new WFI body taking cognizance of the matter. We have suspended the newly-elected body for not following the provisions of its own constitution," said a ministry official
"Returning awards is their way of protest. But we have already asked the IOA to form an ad-hoc body which run WFI till fresh elections.
"We will try to convince and request the wrestlers to take back their awards," he added.
Phogat said she was on cloud nine when they were chosen for spreading government messages but is dismayed at the current situation.
"I remember in 2016 when Sakshi won the Olympic medal your government had made her the brand ambassador of 'Beti bachao beti padhao' campaign. When we got to know about this, this country's women were happy and were sending each other congratulatory messages.
"Today when Sakshi was forced to leave wrestling, I keep remembering that year. Are we women athletes there only for government ads? We have no objection to publishing those advertisements because, from the slogan written in them, it seems that your government wants to work seriously for the upliftment of daughters."
The newly-elected WFI panel has however, been suspended by the Sports Ministry for not following the provisions of its constitution while taking decisions and also asked the IOA to constitute an ad-hoc panel to manage the affairs of the sports body.
In suspending the fresh panel, the government cited its "hasty announcement" of organising the U-15 and U-20 nationals "without following due procedure and not giving sufficient notice to wrestlers" for preparations.
"In what condition Bajrang (Punia) decided to return his Padma Shri is not known to me. But when I saw his photo, I was suffering from inside. After that, I also started hating my awards. When I got these awards my mother distributed sweets to the neighbours."
"I want to get rid of that picture of Vinesh accepting the award because that was a dream and whatever happening now with us is reality."
"When I met you (PM) I told you also about the matter. We have been on the streets for the last year for justice but nobody is taking us seriously."
Vinesh urged the PM to listen to Brij Bhhushan's "crude" statements against the women wrestlers.
"The exploiter has declared his dominance and raised slogans in a very crude manner. Just spare 5 minutes of your life and listen to the statements given by that man in the media, you will know what all he has done.
"He has described women wrestlers as Manthra. He admitted to making women wrestlers uncomfortable on TV openly and didn't leave even a single opportunity to humiliate the women players. What is more serious is that it has forced many female wrestlers to step back. This is very scary."
"Sometimes I wonder whenever my aunties and relatives see our plight now on TV, what they have been telling my mother. No mother in this country will want her daughter to suffer like this, " she said.
मैं अपना मेजर ध्यानचंद खेल रत्न और अर्जुन अवार्ड वापस कर रही हूँ।
— Vinesh Phogat (@Phogat_Vinesh) December 26, 2023
इस हालत में पहुँचाने के लिए ताकतवर का बहुत बहुत धन्यवाद 🙏 pic.twitter.com/KlhJzDPu9D
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Putin meets Iran's FM Araghchi, says Russia ready to do its best to help bring peace to West Asia
Moscow (PTI): Iran's Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi on Monday met Russian President Vladimir Putin, who hailed the Iranian people for fighting bravely and heroically for their sovereignty and said Moscow is ready to do its best to help bring peace to West Asia as soon as possible.
Araghchi, who held talks with Omani and Pakistani leadership before arriving in Russia, met Putin in St. Petersburg and thanked him for supporting Iran, state-owned TASS news agency reported.
"Russia is ready to do everything in its power to ensure that peace in the Middle East is achieved as soon as possible," Putin said during his meeting with Araghchi, which was also attended by Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov.
Revealing that he received a message from Iranian Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei last week, Putin asked Araghchi to convey his "gratitude for this message and best wishes for his health and well-being."
He praised the Iranian people for fighting "bravely and heroically" for their sovereignty, Iran's state-run PRESS TV reported.
"We really hope that, based on the courage and desire for independence, the Iranian people, under the guidance of the new leader, will weather this difficult period of trials and peace will come,” Putin said.
He also stressed that Russia “intends to maintain” its strategic relations with Iran.
Araghchi said that the world witnessed Iran’s strength in countering the US during the recent war, and that the Islamic Republic is a "stable and powerful establishment."
"With their courage, the Iranian people succeeded in resisting the US aggression and will be able to endure it,” he said.
He said that it became clear that Iran has “great friends and allies” like Russia, and conveyed “warmest greetings” from Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei and President Masoud Pezeshkian to the Russian leader.
Araghchi said relations between Moscow and Tehran represent a “strategic partnership at the highest level” and will continue to develop "regardless of circumstances."
"We are grateful to you for the solid and strong positions in support of the Islamic Republic of Iran," he said.
Foreign Minister Lavrov said that the talks between President Putin and the Iranian Foreign Minister were "useful and constructive."
Kremlin Spokesman Dmitry Peskov later said that Russia is "ready to provide any good offices, any mediation services that are acceptable to the parties."
"We will be ready to do everything so that ultimately peace ensues, guaranteed peace, and that there is no return to hostilities," Peskov was quoted as saying by TASS.
He was asked how Moscow can assist in future negotiations on the Iranian settlement.
Araghchi arrived in Russia after his whirlwind trip to Islamabad, which, according to him, was “very productive” and involved “good consultations" with Pakistan's Army Chief Field Marshal Asim Munir, amid uncertainty over the second round of peace talks to resolve the war in West Asia.
"We held good consultations with our friends in Pakistan. The trip was successful. We assessed the outcome of our recent (meetings) and discussed in what direction and under what conditions talks can move on,” Araghchi said in a video posted on his Telegram channel upon his arrival in St Petersburg.
Referring to the second round of talks between the US and Iran to resolve the conflict in West Asia, Araghchi said: "Developments have taken place in the negotiations."
"Despite some progress in earlier rounds, the talks failed to reach their objectives due to the Americans' approach, the excessive demands they made, and the wrong approaches they adopted. Therefore, it was necessary to consult with our friends in Pakistan to review the latest situation,” Iran's official news agency IRNA quoted him as saying.
He said that the trip to Pakistan was a good opportunity to review developments related to the US-Israeli war against Iran, expressing confidence that “these consultations and coordination between the two countries will be highly significant.”
Araghchi arrived at St. Petersburg's Pulkovo Airport early Monday, where he was welcomed by Russian officials and Iran’s ambassador to Russia, Kazem Jalali, the report said.
The first round of peace talks between Iran and the US, held on April 11 and 12, failed to bring the desired result for the parties to the conflict.
The Iranian minister arrived in Islamabad for the second time on Sunday after a short visit to Oman, where he held talks with Sultan Haitham bin Tariq al-Said on security in the Strait of Hormuz and diplomatic efforts to end the Iran-US conflict.
After Araghchi left Pakistan for Oman on Saturday, President Donald Trump announced that US negotiators Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner would no longer be going to Islamabad for talks with Iran, contending that Washington held all the cards on the matter.
Trump on Sunday reiterated that the US and Iranian officials can talk by phone for a peace solution to the conflict.
On Tuesday, Trump extended the two-week ceasefire with Iran indefinitely to give Tehran more time to prepare a unified proposal to end the war, just hours before the truce was set to expire.
The war began when the US and Israel jointly attacked Iran on February 28, killing Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and several top commanders. The retaliation by the Islamic Republic extended the war to the entire Gulf region.
