Media is supporting Brij Bhushan more than the players: Protesting wrestlers
New Delhi, Apr 30: The protesting wrestlers on Sunday accused the media of helping WFI chief Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh more than the players, saying the newspersons should not give him the platform to speak.
Accused of sexual harassment of women wrestlers, the Wrestling Federation of India chief has vowed to fight against the charges and claimed that the athletes' protest was politically motivated.
The Delhi Police has filed two FIRs, including one under the POCSO act, against the BJP MP, who has completed 12 years as WFI president and is ineligible to become an office bearer again.
"The media is supporting Brij Bhushan more than the players. You see his criminal records. Does any player, sitting here, or players from other sports, have criminal record?" Bajrang asked during a media interaction.
The Tokyo Games bronze medallist sought to convey the message that it's more difficult to win an Olympic medal than becoming a Member of Parliament in this country.
"The players win medals for the country, and he is questioning the medal winners. How many people become MPs in this country, and how many people win Olympic medals. To date, there are hardly 40 Olympic medallists, and thousands have become MPs," he said.
Double World Championship medallist Vinesh Phogat said Brij Bhushan's charge that the wrestlers are involved in politics is baseless.
"We are not involved in any politics. We speak straight from the heart and it connects, and that is why so many people are sitting here in our support."
She also appealed to the media not to give Brij Bhushan a platform to speak.
"I ask how can you give such a criminal a platform? Ask yourself. If you will not do that, half of the problems will be solved. That man is still saying things with a smile on his face. His ego is bigger than the Ravana (villain in epic Ramayana)," she said, much to the amazement of the gathered mediapersons who have been giving the protesting wrestlers coverage ever since the players began their protest.
"If he comes out clean in Supreme Courts order, you guys can garland him. He is still being garlanded. What has he done? When we win medals, we are garlanded. He has exploited women athletes, and he is being felicitated. I request that you do not give him that platform."
Brij Bhushan claimed that the wrestlers want to take over the WFI and thus the protest was happening and that only one family (Phogats) is behind the protest. Bajrang countered the charge.
"If you have to be in WFI, then you have to be a member of a state association. We don't want control of WFI. His son is president of UP Association, and the secretary is his son's brother-in-law. His son-in-law is also a member of state association. He is accusing us of 'parivaarwaad' while actually it is happening in his case," said Bajrang.
The wrestlers have complained of non-cooperation from the authorities, who they have accused of cutting power and water supply at night.
Asked if the situation has got any better, Vinesh shot back, saying, "Do you stay here during the night? I request all of you stay here and then I will ask you how much the authorities are helping us."
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Tharoor junks Rijiju's claim that he agreed Cong is 'anti-women'; hails his party
New Delhi (PTI): Congress MP Shashi Tharoor on Tuesday debunked Union minister Kiren Rijiju's reported claim that the opposition party leader had agreed that the Congress is "anti-women", asserting that at no point did he imply any such thing and that his party has stood for women's rights and reservation.
Reacting to Rijiju's claims, Tharoor stressed that the Congress is totally in favour of women's reservation and prepared to have it implemented right now -- without linking it to delimitation.
In a post on X, the Congress leader said, "I am sorry, but with the greatest respect for Kiren Rijiju, at no point did I say or imply any such thing -- and I have seven witnesses in the photograph who can confirm that!"
"'That was what he meant', our Minister says. No, sir, that is NOT what I meant. 'That Congress can be anti-women...he agreed in a way,' he added. I am sorry but I did NOT agree in any way," Tharoor said.
"The Congress has stood for women's rights and women's reservation under a strong woman president in Sonia Gandhi, initiated the Women's Reservation Bill, passed it in the Rajya Sabha during our tenure and supported it in the Lok Sabha when it was brought by government of India in 2023," he said.
"We are totally in favour of women's reservation and are prepared to have it implemented right now -- without linking it to delimitation," the Thiruvananthapuram MP added.
Rijiju's reported comments came while narrating details of the conversation he had with Tharoor on April 18 after the end of the three-day special sitting of Parliament during which the Constitution (131st Amendment) Bill to implement 33 per cent reservation for women in legislatures in 2029 and increase the number of Lok Sabha seats to 816 was defeated in the Lok Sabha.
Tharoor on April 18 had shared a snippet of his conversation with Parliamentary Affairs Minister Rijiju after the Lok Sabha was adjourned sine die, and said the BJP leader conceded that “no one could ever call me anti-women”.
Tharoor had said women are by far the better half of the species - 'Humans 2.0' - and deserve representation in Parliament and in every institution.
"Just don’t link their advancement to a mischievous and potentially dangerous Delimitation that could devastate our democracy," he had said on X.
Sharing a picture of some opposition MPs standing with Rijiju in the Lok Sabha, Tharoor had said, "A little post-adjournment gathering of Opposition MPs in the Lok Sabha with our charming Parliamentary Affairs Minister.
"When Kiren Rijiju explained why he and his party were calling the Opposition 'mahila virodhi', it was pointed out to him that no one could ever call me anti-women! He conceded the point…"
While 298 members voted in support of the Bill, 230 MPs voted against it. Out of 528 members who voted, the Bill required 352 votes for a two-thirds majority.
The Bill proposed to increase the number of Lok Sabha seats to 816 from the current 543 to "operationalise" the women's reservation law before the 2029 parliamentary polls, following a delimitation exercise based on the 2011 Census.
Seats were also to be increased in state and UT assemblies to accommodate 33 per cent reservation for women.
The three-day special sitting was convened from April 16 to 18 to secure Parliament's approval for the Bill.
After the bill was defeated, the Congress had said the "nefarious attempt" of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Home Minister Amit Shah to link their "dangerous delimitation proposals" to women's reservation had been decisively defeated in the Lok Sabha, calling it a win for democracy and the Constitution.
I am sorry, but with the greatest respect for @KirenRijiju, at no point did I say or imply any such thing -- and I have seven witnesses in the photograph who can confirm that!
— Shashi Tharoor (@ShashiTharoor) April 28, 2026
"That was what he meant", our Minister says. No, sir, that is NOT what I meant. "That Congress can be… https://t.co/hkUsYgOY7a
