After Olympic medalist Sakshi Malik decided to retire from Wrestling following the appointment of Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh’s aid Sanjay Singh as the new WFI President, Bajrang Punia has also decided to return his Padma Shri award in protest.
Olympic medalist Bajrang Punia was one of the protesting wrestlers who sat in protest against former WFI chief Brij Bhushan at Jantar Mantar, accusing him of sexual harassment.
The wrestlers had earlier stated that if anyone related to Brij Bhushan would be given the seat, they will continue the protest even after the election.
VIDEO | Wrestler @BajrangPunia stopped at Delhi’s Kartavya Path by Delhi Police officials. Earlier today, Punia announced on X that he is returning his Padma Shri award to the PM. pic.twitter.com/cQUg3gpzDK
— Press Trust of India (@PTI_News) December 22, 2023
“Dear PM Ji, hope your health is well. You must be busy in many work but I am writing this to draw your attention to the wrestlers of the country. You must be aware that the women wrestlers of the country started a protest in January this year against Brij Bhushan Singh accusing him of sexual harassment. I too joined their protest. The protest stopped after the government promised strong action,” Bajrang Punia wrote on social media platform X.
“But there was no FIR against Brij Bhushan even after three months. We again took to the streets in April so that the police at least file an FIR against him. There were 19 complainants in January but the number came down to 7 by April. This means Brij Bhushan exerted his influence on 12 women wrestlers,” he added.
मैं अपना पद्मश्री पुरस्कार प्रधानमंत्री जी को वापस लौटा रहा हूँ. कहने के लिए बस मेरा यह पत्र है. यही मेरी स्टेटमेंट है। 🙏🏽 pic.twitter.com/PYfA9KhUg9
— Bajrang Punia 🇮🇳 (@BajrangPunia) December 22, 2023
The disappointment level is even bugger as the wrestlers had been promised by Sports Minister Anurag Thakur that no one related to Brij Bhushan would be elected as the new President.
Both Sakshi Malik and Bajrang Punia addressed the media after Sanjay Singh’s appointment on December 21. Sakshi Malik announced that she will be quitting Wrestling if the decision to name Sanjay Singh as president stands. In tears, Sakshi Malik put her Wrestling shoes on the table and walked out of the room.
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