Union Sports activities Minister Anurag Thakur has urged the protesting Indian wrestlers to not take any steps till the Delhi Police Investigation on Wrestling Federation of India chief Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh, alleged of sexual harassment and misconduct is concluded.
“The wrestlers had mentioned it themselves in January that this platform is just not for politics and we don’t need any political occasion to take action. However later, the events and commerce unions joined the protests,” Thakur informed reporters on Wednesday.
“I don’t wish to touch upon that however I’ll say this, my pricey athletes, await the Delhi Police investigation. They’ve registered the FIR maintaining according to their talks with the Supreme Court docket. It’ll solely be proper in the event you don’t take any steps till the investigation is concluded that hurt the game or any athlete. All of us are in favor of the game and the athletes. All of us need them to progress. Sport on this nation has moved ahead underneath the steerage of Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Not simply the price range however the achievements as nicely,” he additional added.
VIDEO | “A number of political events and commerce unions joined the stage (of wrestlers’ protest) however I don’t wish to touch upon that. I urge my pricey athletes to attend for the Delhi Police investigation,” says Union Minister Anurag Thakur. pic.twitter.com/VjJlyFGVsQ
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Earlier on Tuesday, a few of nation’s high wrestlers together with Bajrang Punia, Sakshi Malik and Vinesh Phogat, who’d been protesting on the Jantar Mantar within the nationwide capital for over a month had acknowledged that they’d immerse their Olympics and World Championship medals in Ganga, Haridwar.
After sitting in a huddle on the banks of the river for over an hour-and-a-half, the place a few of them may very well be seen sobbing as they clutched their medals and citations, the wrestlers reversed their resolution, quickly after Bharatiya Kisan Union (BKU) president Naresh Tikait reached the spot and requested them to defer their resolution by 5 days.
“We have been assured that our calls for can be met, so we stepped again. Nevertheless, in case the federal government goes again on its phrase, we are going to return to the Ganga once more,” a wrestler, who didn’t wish to be named, informed The Indian Categorical.
The occasions had come within the aftermath of Delhi Police detaining the wrestlers, who then dragged them, hoisted them off the streets and put them into police vans earlier than detaining them, once they tried to march to the newly inaugurated Parliament constructing on Sunday, Might 28.
Afterward Tuesday, the United World Wrestling put out a robust assertion condemning the therapy and detention of the Indian wrestlers.
“For a number of months, United World Wrestling has adopted with nice concern the state of affairs in India the place wrestlers are protesting over allegations of abuse and harassment by the President of the Wrestling Federation of India (WFI),” the assertion mentioned earlier than including: “UWW will request additional details about the following elective basic meeting from the IOA and the Advert-hoc Committee of the WFI. The 45-day deadline that was initially set to carry this elective meeting shall be revered. Failing to take action could lead UWW to droop the federation, thereby forcing the athletes to compete underneath a impartial flag. It’s reminded that UWW already took a measure on this state of affairs by reallocating the Asian Championship deliberate in New Delhi earlier this yr.”