Olympian wrestlers Vinesh Phogat and Bajrang Punia have recently joined Congress and have started a war of words with Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh, the former WFI president and a BJP member.
Punia and Phogat, who have been quite critical of Singh over charges of sexual harassment, officially joined the Congress on September 6 after a meeting with Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi and Congress chief Mallikarjun Kharge.
Vinesh Phogat who recently was disqualified at the Paris Olympics for being overweight has been given a Congress ticket to contest from the Julana constituency in the Jind district in the upcoming Haryana Assembly Elections. Olympic medallist Bajrang Punia has been assigned the position of the working chairman of the All India Kisan Congress.
The entry of these prominent wrestlers into politics has attracted comments from Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh. Singh has been in the news for the wrong reasons over the past few months after several female wrestlers accused him of sexual harassment, that included Phogat and Sakshi Malik.
She said, “Think of all that he has said…that he would hang himself if any woman came forward to accuse him. Many did. And what did he do? He accused me of cheating…that I wanted to change rules. But I competed nationally, competed at trials, went to Olympics. I qualified on my own. I have proved him wrong at every turn and will do so now as well.”
Vinesh has recently shown support to the farmers and she actively participated in the protest against the BJP, which may influence the voters in the upcoming elections.
