Mega Farmers Convene in Muzaffarnagar, Uttar Pradesh, Over Wrestlers’ Protest
On Thursday, a large gathering of farmers will be held in Muzaffarnagar, Uttar Pradesh, to address the ongoing wrestlers’ protest at the Jantar Mantar in Delhi.
The wrestlers have accused Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh, the current WFI (Wrestling Federation of India) president, of harassing female wrestlers.
The administration has urged people to believe the results of the current police investigation several times.
Singh has said that he would hang himself if the accusations against him are confirmed.
A “mahapanchayat” will be held by farmers to address the problem.
A large gathering of all khaps will be convened today in Muzaffarnagar, Uttar Pradesh, to address the wrestlers’ protest, according to the Bharatiya Kisan Union (BKU).
The mahapanchayat would include a number of members from various khaps and their heads from Uttar Pradesh, Haryana, Punjab, Rajasthan, and Delhi, according to BKU leader Naresh Tikait.
Tikait was instrumental in convincing several of India’s top wrestlers to keep their medals out of the Ganga on Tuesday.
Due to the lack of action taken against the WFI chairman, Olympic medalists Sakshi Malik, Bajrang Punia, and Asian Games gold medalist Vinesh Phogat travelled to Haridwar on Tuesday and threatened to throw their medals into the river.
After being persuaded by the farmer leaders and being given a five-day deadline by the authorities, they decided against doing so.
Since January, the wrestlers have been on the offensive, asking that WFI president Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh be brought to justice for allegedly sexually harassing seven sportsmen, among them a kid.
The protesting wrestlers were accused of “changing the goalposts” by Union Sports Minister Anurag Thakur yesterday.
“The players themselves had said that using the platform for politics is not appropriate. However, subsequent political groups that shared same platform came and went,” Thakur had remarked.
The sport’s governing body, United World Wrestling (UWW), criticised the “lack of results” in the investigations of Mr. Singh in a statement. The UWW cautioned that failing to organise new elections for the WFI within 45 days might result in the suspension of the federation and reminded the Indian Olympic Association (IOA) of its commitment to do so.
