Wrestler Bajrang Punia appointed as working chairman of All India Kisan Congress

Hours after he joined the Congress on Friday, wrestler Bajrang Punia was appointed working chairman of All India Kisan Congress.

A Congress press release said that party chief Mallikarjun Kharge has approved the proposal for appointing Bajrang Punia as working chairman of All India Kisan Congress. He has been appointed to the post with immediate effect.

Wrestlers Bajrang Punia and Vinesh Phogat joined the Congress party earlier in the day in the presence of Congress general secretary (organisation) KC Venugopal, party leader Pawan Khera, Haryana Congress chief Udai Bhan and AICC in-charge of Haryana, Deepak Babaria.

The wrestlers resigned from their respective positions in Northern Railways earlier in the day. Punia said he will work on every issue, including those of farmers, athletes, labourers and students.

"I am glad that today I am standing with a party which has been fighting against injustice. Be it on issues of farmers, players, or the Agniveer scheme, it is the right of people to raise their voice against what is wrong," Punia told ANI.

The two well-known wrestlers joined the Congress almost a month before assembly polls in Haryana. Punia won bronze at the Tokyo Olympics, while Vinesh Phogat became the first Indian woman wrestler to reach the Olympics final.

Voting for the 90-member Haryana Assembly will be held on October 5 and votes will be counted on October 8.