Shashi Tharoor said wrestlers standing up for their rights does not "tarnish the image of nation". (File)
Congress MP Shashi Tharoor today slammed the country's Olympics body chief PT Usha for criticising the wrestlers' public protest over alleged sexual misconduct by the wrestling body head.
Ms Usha had said the wrestlers' protest "amounts to indiscipline" and slammed them for not waiting for the report by a committee that is looking into the charges against Wrestling Federation of India chief and BJP MP Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh, who has denied any wrongdoing.
"Dear @PTUshaOfficial, it is does not become you to disparage the justified protests of your fellow sportspersons in the face of repeated & wanton sexual harassment. Their standing up for their rights does not "tarnish the image of the nation". Ignoring their concerns - instead of hearing them out, investigating them & taking just action - does," the Thiruvananthapuram MP tweeted.
His remark came a day after PT Usha, a celebrated former athlete and Rajya Sabha member who heads the Indian Olympic Association, strongly criticised the wrestlers' protest as a "negative approach" that is "tarnishing" the country's image.
"The players should not have protested on the streets. They should have at least waited for the report of the committee. What they have done is not good for the game and the country. It is a negative approach," she had said.
West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee too has backed the wrestlers and called for justice in the matter.
"We must all stand with the wrestlers who are protesting. They are speaking in one voice. Our sportspersons are the pride of our nation. They are champions. The guilty must be brought to book, irrespective of their political affiliation. Justice must prevail. Truth must win," she said.
Her Delhi counterpart Arvind Kejriwal will be visiting the wrestlers at Jantar Mantar tomorrow. Two senior leaders from his Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), Saurabh Bhardwaj and Atishi, will go meet them this evening.
Another politician, Priyanka Chaturvedi of the Uddhav Thackeray camp, also differed with PT Usha's remark.
"Country's image is tarnished when we have MPs accused of sexual harassment going scot free while the victims have to struggle for justice. Am sorry Ma'm we must collectively speak up for our sportswomen not accuse them of tarnishing image when they are the ones who won laurels for our country and gave us reasons to be proud," she tweeted.
Ms Usha's statement evoked a prompt response from among the protesting wrestlers, who said they were hurt by her comments as they were looking up to her for support.
"PT Usha has been our icon. We felt hurt by what she said. I want to ask her, when her academy was being demolished and she had raised her concerns on social media, then was that not tarnishing India's image," Olympian Bajrang Punia told news agency ANI.
They had also written to her to act on the matter.
The protest by the star wrestlers, including Vinesh Phogat, Bajrang Punia, Sakshi Malik, has seen political leaders making a beeline to their venue after they returned to the streets alleging no action was taken on their charges.
They had first taken to the streets in January over the alleged sexual misconduct charges, but withdrew their protest following an assurance by Sports Minister Anurag Thakur. They have also moved the Supreme Court for an urgent hearing and are set to be heard today.