Wrestler and BJP leader Babita Phogat today met fellow wrestlers protesting over sexual harassment allegations against key members of the country's top wrestling body and assured them swift action.
Ms Phogat reached Delhi's Jantar Mantar where 200-odd wrestlers, including Olympians Vinesh Phogat, Sakshee Malikkh and Bajrang Punia, with a "message from the government".
A three-time Commonwealth Games medallist and an Olympian, Ms Phogat is the youngest of Phogat sisters whose lives inspired the Bollywood movie 'Dangal'. Now an office-bearer in BJP's youth wing Bharatiya Janata Yuva Morcha, she addressed the protesting wrestlers at the protest site today. "I am a wrestler first. The BJP government is with the wrestlers. I will make sure that action is taken today itself. I am a wrestler, and I am in the government as well, so it is my responsibility to mediate."
Amid the damning allegations against top office-bearers of the federation, including president Brij Bhushan Charan Singh, and senior coaches, Ms Phogat said, "I have heard instances of abuse in my career as well. There is no smoke without fire. These voices are important."
Earlier, Ms Phogat tweeted that she would make every effort to raise this issue at every level.
Vinesh Phogat, the first Indian woman wrestler to win gold in both Commonwealth and Asian Games, is among the wrestlers who have alleged that coaches are harassing women. She has also said that some coaches, who are "favourites of the federation", misbehave with women coaches too. "They sexually harass girls. The WFI president has sexually harassed many girls," she has said.
Targeting the federation president further, she said, "After my defeat in the Tokyo Olympics, the WFI president called me a 'khota sikka'. The Federation mentally tortured me. I would entertain thoughts of ending my life every day. If anything happens to any wrestler, the WFI president will be to blame."
Besides sexual harassment, the protesting wrestlers have accused the federation of other irregularities.
Mr Punia, a Tokyo Olympics bronze medallist, accused Mr Singh of running the federation in a high-handed manner. "The job of the federation is to support the players, and take care of their sporting needs. If there is a problem, it has to be solved," he tweeted. At the Jantar Mantar protest, Mr Punia stressed that the protest "not political". "This is not a political protest. This is a protest for our rights. We thank all the wrestlers for joining us," he said.
The protesting wrestlers were also visited by Swati Maliwal, chief of Delhi's panel for women. The panel has issued a notice to the Union Sports Ministry, seeking an explanation on the matter.
The Centre, meanwhile, has asked the wrestling body for a response in three days.
The federation's president Singh, also a BJP MP, has refuted the charges. "All the sexual harassment allegations are false, and I will commit suicide if they are found to be true. I tried to get in touch with the wrestlers, including Bajrang Punia, but was unable to do so," the 66-year-old was quoted as saying by news agency ANI.
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