New Delhi: The wrestlers who are demanding action against BJP MP and Wrestling Federation of India (WFI) chief Brijbhushan Singh said they are “hurt” by Indian Olympic Association (IOA) chief P.T. Usha’s criticism of their protest.
Usha said the ongoing protest by wrestlers was “not good for the game and the country”, and told them to wait until the report of a committee that is looking into their allegations was made public. She said the protest “amounts to indiscipline”.
“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,” Usha said, according to NDTV. The wrestlers had written to Usha asking her to act on their demands.
“Our feeling is that for sexual harassment complaints, IOA has a committee and athletes’ commission. Instead of going to the street (again), they should have come to us, but they have not at all come to IOA,” Usha told reporters after the sports body’s executive committee meeting, according to Indian Express.
She also went on to say, “They are sitting on a dharna and asking all political parties to join them, and that is what disappoints me.”
Wrestlers hit back
Responding to Usha’s criticism, Sakshi Malik, one of the protesting wrestlers, said, “We feel hurt by P.T. Usha’s comment. She is not supporting us despite being a woman herself. What indiscipline have we done? We are sitting here peacefully. If we had got justice, we would not have done this.”
Wrestler Vinesh Phogat said she had tried to reach Usha over the phone but did not receive any response from her. “… We don’t know whether she is under some kind of pressure,” she added. “When Olympic medallists from the nation are sitting on the streets in protest, I think PT Usha ma’am should have come to us. She should have asked us why we were in tears.”
Bajrang Punia called Usha’s statement “shocking”. “She herself was an athlete and she is also a woman. We did not expect this harsh reaction from her, we expected support,” a flustered Bajrang Punia told PTI.
Several wrestlers who have won medals at prestigious international tournaments resumed their protest against the WFI chief on April 23, three months after ending their dharna after an oversight committee was probed to examine allegations of sexual harassment. While the report has not yet been made public, the wrestlers say it has not been able to do them justice.
The findings of a six-member oversight panel that submitted its report on April 5 have not yet been made public by the sports ministry. The Delhi Police in the Supreme Court on April 26 said it “felt” that “some preliminary inquiry” may be needed before registering an FIR on the sexual harassment complaints against Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh.
Solicitor general Tushar Mehta, in his urgent mentioning for the police on Wednesday, justified the non-registration of the FIR by highlighting the “need” for a “preliminary inquiry”. Though he also added that if the court felt an FIR was required to be registered immediately, the police would definitely do so. The intervention by the police came a day after Chief Justice of India D.Y. Chandrachud’s bench termed the allegations as “serious”. Seven women wrestlers had urgently moved the Supreme Court. The court will now hear the case on April 28.