Amid hectic parleys to find a breakthrough in the protest of India’s top wrestlers against the Wrestling Foundation of India and its chief BJP’s Brij Bhushan Singh, wrestler and BJP’s Babita Phogat issued a stern message to the Congress asking the party to not politicise the issue for ‘own benefit’. “The fight of the players is not against Prime Minister Narendra Modi or didi Smriti Irani. The protest is against the Federation and one individual. I want to tell the Congress to stop doing petty politics on the movement of the athletes for their own benefits,” Babita Phogat tweeted. Read | Why PM Modi remains silent over wrestlers’ protest, asks Congress
As the protest of the wrestlers at Delhi’s Jantar Mantar is on the third day on Friday, Bajrang Punia, one of the prominent protesters, too clarified the stand and urged for no politics on the issue. Read | ‘Silent, as always’: Sena MP slams Smriti Irani, NCW over wrestlers’ protest
On Thursday, the wrestlers were joined by CPM leader Brinda Karat but she was asked to leave the stage so that the protest remains that of the athletes without acquiring any political colour.
Read | Boxer Vijender Singh joins protesting wrestlers, questions PM’s silence
The ongoing protest of the wrestlers took an obvious political colour as Brij Bhushan Singh who has been accused of sexual harassment is a BJP MP from Kaiserganj. His association with the party goes a long way as he was elected to the Lok Sabha first in 1991. He rejoined the part after a brief stint in the Samajwadi Party.
Union sports minister Anurag Thakur met the protesters on Thursday and another meeting is to be held on Friday. The Indian Olympic Association called for an emergency meeting with the wrestlers on Friday evening after the wrestlers wrote to PT Usha, the president of the association, reiterating their demands against the federation and Brij Bhushan.
