That's her personal opinion, I don't agree with that: Vinesh Phogat on Sakshi Malik's claims
New Delhi, Oct 22: Star wrestler and Congress MLA Vinesh Phogat on Tuesday disagreed with Sakshi Malik's view that her and Bajrang Punia's decision to accept exemption from the Asian Games trials last year undermined their protest against Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh.
Olympic bronze-winning wrestler Sakshi, one of the three prominent faces of the prolonged protest against the former WFI chief, had claimed in her recent book that Vinesh and Bajrang's decision made their movement seem "selfish".
"That is her personal opinion. I don't agree with that. Unless I am weak, the fight cannot be weak. This is my belief. Till the time Sakshi, Vinesh and Bajrang are alive, the fight cannot be weak," Vinesh told PTI Video.
"Those who want to win should never be weak. They should always choose to fight on the field. For that you will have to be tough and face the obstacles. And we are ready for fight."
In her recently-released book 'Witness', Sakshi said their protest developed cracks when "people close to" Bajrang and Vinesh began to fill their minds with "greed".
The trio had alleged that Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh sexually harassed women wrestlers during his tenure as WFI president. The case is still being heard in a Delhi court.
The ad-hoc committee, that took over the administration of wrestling after WFI's suspension, exempted Bajrang and Vinesh from the 2023 Asian Games trials but Sakshi decided not to seek the favour as suggested by her colleagues.
Eventually, Sakshi did not compete while Vinesh suffered an injury before the Games and Bajrang failed to win a medal in Hangzhou.
Vinesh, who was elected from Julana constituency in the Haryana Assembly elections earlier this month, said their fight will continue "till we are alive".
"When we were playing, the responsibility of crores of people of the country was on us. Today I am elected (as MLA) from Congress party ... even today the whole nation is looking at us," she said.
"But we can assure you that the fight we fought on the streets and up to Olympics is for all daughters and sisters and for all women who know how to fight and want to fight. Farmers, youth and athletes are the foundation of our country. We will fight till we are alive."
The protest, which went for months, ended after the wrestlers' march towards the new Parliament Building was halted by the Police on May 28, 2023.
Both Vinesh and Bajrang joined the Congress party before the Haryana assembly elections earlier this month. The former contested and won from the Julana constituency, while the latter was made head of the party's national farmers' unit.
Before the political plunge, Vinesh endured a heartbreaking sporting low when she was disqualified from the 50kg category final in Paris Olympics for being 100gm overweight.
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Bengaluru resembles Venice, not Singapore, says JDS leader HD Kumaraswamy as rain batters city
Bengaluru, Oct 22: Union Minister H D Kumaraswamy on Tuesday took a dig at the Congress government in Karnataka for its handling of the rain situation, saying Bengaluru resembled Venice and not Singapore, which they had promised to transform it into.
As rains battered the country's IT hub for the third day, the the JD(S) second-in-command told reporters, “They (Congress) had said they would make turn Bengaluru into Singapore, but we are seeing Venice like situation where people move around in boats.”
He claimed that the issue is not just about water-logging in some parts of Bengaluru. For the past three years, people are forced to leave their homes and stay in hotels during rains.
Kumaraswamy alleged that no state minister has made a field visit. Also, no one in the government including Chief Minister Siddramaiah showed the courtesy to speak about the huge crop loss in various parts of Karnataka.
ALSO READ: Three killed, 13 workers trapped after under-construction building collapses in Bengaluru
The opposition BJP too slammed the state government for the potholes in the city.
“People are cursing the Congress government for not handling the potholes. Killer potholes rule in DCM D K Shivakumar’s Brand Bengaluru. Dear Bengaluru Development Minister Shivakumar, first you please solve the problem of Bengaluru,” the BJP Karnataka unit said in a post on ‘X’.
ರಸ್ತೆ ಗುಂಡಿಗಳನ್ನು ಮುಚ್ಚಲು "ಕೈ"ಲಾಗದ ಕಾಂಗ್ರೆಸ್ ಸರ್ಕಾರಕ್ಕೆ ಸಾರ್ವಜನಿಕರಿಂದ ಹಿಡಿಶಾಪ.
— BJP Karnataka (@BJP4Karnataka) October 22, 2024
ಡಿಕೆಶಿ ಅವರ ಬ್ರ್ಯಾಂಡ್ ಬೆಂಗಳೂರಿನಲ್ಲಿ ಯಮರೂಪಿ ಗುಂಡಿಗಳದ್ದೇ ದರ್ಬಾರ್!
ನಗರಾಭಿವೃದ್ಧಿ ಸಚಿವ @DKShivakumar ಅವರೇ, ಮೊದಲು ಬೆಂಗಳೂರಿಗರ ಸಮಸ್ಯೆ ಬಗೆಹರಿಸಿ ಕೃತಾರ್ಥರಾಗಿ. #CongressFailsKarnataka pic.twitter.com/F5b9HhoGR1
•ಬೆಂಗಳೂರು ನಗರವನ್ನು ಬ್ರ್ಯಾಂಡ್ ಬೆಂಗಳೂರು ಮಾಡುವೆ ಎಂದಿದ್ದ ಗಿರಾಕಿ @DKShivakumar
— Janata Dal Secular (@JanataDal_S) October 22, 2024
ನಮ್ಮ ಹೆಮ್ಮೆಯ ನಗರವನ್ನು ಇಟಲಿಯ ವೆನಿಸ್ ಮಾಡಿ ಕೃತಾರ್ಥರಾಗಿದ್ದಾರೆ.
•ಭಾರತದ ಸಿಲಿಕಾನ್ ವ್ಯಾಲಿ, ಉದ್ಯಾನನಗರಿಯಾಗಿದ್ದ ಬೆಂಗಳೂರಿನ ಕೆರೆಗಳನ್ನು ಒಂದಾದ ಮೇಲೆ ಒಂದರಂತೆ ನುಂಗಿದ ಪರಿಣಾಮ ಬೆಂಗಳೂರಿಗೆ ಬೆಂಗಳೂರೇ ಕೆರೆಯಾಗಿಬಿಟ್ಟಿದೆ!!… pic.twitter.com/XTg0BRRVVA
