Protesting wrestlers to call for a panchayat soon
Bajrang Punia urged khap leaders and farmers’ organisations on Sunday to not hold multiple Mahapanchayats “to avoid wrong messaging” and said the wrestlers will convene their own gathering soon to discuss the future course of their protest seeking action against former wrestling federation president, Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh.
The Tokyo Olympics bronze medallist attended a meeting with Rashtriya Lok Dal's Rajya Sabha MP Jayant Chaudhary, Bhim Army chief Chandrashekhar Azad, Bharatiya Kisan Union’s Gurnam Singh Charuni, Palam 360 khap's chief Chaudhary Surender Solanki and some representatives from Bharatiya Kisan Union (BKU). The meeting was held at Mundlana village in Sonepat, Haryana.
“We’ll call a sportspersons panchayat. We will decide the date and venue of the panchayat in which all khaps, farmer unions and other activists will take part. We need three to four days to decide all these things. After the Delhi incident, Vinesh Phogat and Sakshi Malik were emotionally down and their family members are taking care of them. Their families were concerned about them and they were not mentally up to attend this meeting,” Punia said.
Charuni, the organiser of Sunday’s Mahapanchayat, said the meet was to take strong decisions as they had given four days to the Centre to act against Brij Bhushan. “We will sit on Delhi’s borders and bar the entry of BJP-JJP (Jannayat Janta Party) leaders in Haryana’s villages and cites if justice is not served to women wrestlers.
“We respect his thoughts. We believe the wrestlers' protest should be run along the lines of the farmers' protest. That protest belonged to the farmers and so they were at the forefront. This is wrestlers' struggle and they will be at the forefront. Farm leaders and khaps will support them.”
Sunday's meeting was the third in a week by farmer and khap leaders to discuss the wrestlers' issues.
On Thursday, the khaps decided to send a 5-7 member delegation to President Droupadi Murmu while on Friday, they gave the government until June 9 to arrest Brij Bhushan, who is accused of sexual harassment by at least seven women wrestlers, including a minor. The khaps have also demanded that all the charges against the wrestlers be dropped.
"Our core demands remain the same. Singh's arrest is non-negotiable," Solanki said.
It was Punia's first public engagement since Tuesday's high drama in Haridwar where he, 2016 Rio Games bronze medallist Sakshi Malik and two-time World Championships bronze medallist Vinesh Phogat were persuaded not to immerse their medals in the Ganga.
Villagers belonging to Palam 360 khap observed a fast at Delhi’s Katwaria Sarai from 10 am to 5 pm in the wrestlers' support.
Brij Bhushan plans rally
Days after the postponement of his June 5 rally in Ayodhya, Brij Bhushan plans to address a public meeting at Colonelganj in the BJP MP’s Kaiserganj Lok Sabha constituency on June 11 to mark nine years of the BJP government at the Centre, people familiar with the issue said.
Singh’s June 5 rally was put off on Friday after the district administration denied permission citing prohibitory orders in the area. He cited the ongoing Delhi Police investigation into the wrestlers’ charges against him for the postponement “for a few days”.
Centre not bothered: Gehlot
Rajasthan chief minister Ashok Gehlot slammed the central government on Saturday.
“The wrestlers are protesting in Delhi but it seems the government is not even bothered about their plight. An FIR (2 FIRs) was registered on the directions of the Supreme Court. In Rajasthan, we have made it mandatory to file an FIR (on allegations of sexual harassment or abuse)," he said while addressing a public rally in Pali.
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