As Vinesh Phogat, Bajrang Punia Join Congress, Brij Bhushan And New WFI Chief Claim Wrestlers' Protest Was Politically Motivated

Former wrestling body chief Brij Bhushan Singh has launched a scathing attack on wrestlers Vinesh Phogat and Bajrang Punia after they joined Congress.

Singh, against whom wrestlers had levelled sexual harassment allegations, accused Vinesh and Bajrang of stopping wrestling activity for over two years.

"Haryana is the crown of India in the field of sports. And they stopped the wrestling activities for almost 2.5 years. Is it not true that Bajrang went to the Asian Games without trials? I want to ask those who are experts in wrestling. I want to ask Vinesh Phogat whether a player can give trials in 2 weight categories in a day? Can the trials be stopped for 5 hours after the weigh-in?... You did not win the wrestling, you went there by cheating. God has punished you for the same," Singh was quoted as saying by news agency ANI.

Wrestlers Vinesh Phogat and Bajrang Punia, who were among the central figures in the wrestlers' protest against alleged sexual exploitation and intimidation by then WFI chief and former BJP MP Brij Bhushan Singh, joined the Congress on Friday.

Later in the day, Congress announced the list of 31 candidates for the Haryana polls, which featured Vinesh Phogat as party candidate from Julana constituency.

Singh further claimed that he was "not guilty of disrespecting daughters".

"If anyone is guilty of disrespecting daughters, it is Bajrang and Vinesh. And the one who wrote the script, Bhupinder Hooda is responsible for that. If they (BJP) will ask me (to campaign in the Haryana polls), I can go. One day Congress will have to regret it...," he said.

Sanjay Singh, the President of the Wrestling Federation of India (WFI), attacked Congress after Phogat and Punia joined the party.

"This was bound to happen. It is known to the whole country that this entire protest was happening at the behest of Congress and its mastermind was Deepender Hooda, the Hooda family. The foundation of this protest was laid on the day when our Prime Minister praised Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh, saying that wrestling is in safe hands," Sanjay Singh said.

"This entire conspiracy was also hatched because 4-5 wrestling medals were going to come in the Olympics. The protest also affected those medals. There was no wrestling activity for 2 years in the Olympic year, so due to that, we got fewer medals. Our wrestlers were not able to practice... Now these people are not going to have any impact on our wrestling association," he added.

Also Read: Haryana Assembly Polls: Congress Fields Wrestler Vinesh Phogat From Julana Constituency