• Source:JND
Add as a preferred

Indian wrestlers and Olympians Vinesh Phogat and Bajrang Punia joined Congress on Friday just ahead of the Haryana Assembly Election 2024. Congress leader KC Venugopal inducted the two grapplers into the party after they met Congress resident Mallikarjun Kharge at his residence in Delhi. Phogat and Punia had spearheaded the wrestlers' protest against former BJP MP and ex-WFI chief Brij Bhushan Singh, accusing him of sexually abusing women wrestlers.

After joining the party, Vinesh Phogat thanked the Congress leadership and said, "I thank Congress party. Kehte hain na ki bure time mein pata lagta hai ki apna kaun hai. When we were being dragged on the road, all parties except BJP were with us. I feel proud that I have joined a party which stands with women and is ready to fight from sadak to sansad."

On the wrestlers' movement against ex-WFI chief and former BJP MP Brij Bhushan Singh, Phogat said that the fight has not ended yet and it will continue "till we win". "The fight is continuing, it hasn't ended yet. It's in Court. We will win that fight as well. With the new platform that we are getting today, we will work for the service of the nation. The way we played our game with heart, we will give our best to work for our people," Phogat said.

"I want to tell my sisters, that I am with them. If there will be no one for you, I will be there, Congress party will be there. I have felt this, and I can assure you that we will be there for sure," the Olympian wrestler added.

Wrestler and Olympian Bajrang Punia said, "What BJP IT Cell is saying today that we just wanted to do politics. We had written to all women BJP MPs to stand with us but they still didn't come. We are paying to raise the voices of women but now we know that BJP stands with atrocities against women, and all other parties stand with us".

"We will work hard to strengthen the Congress party and the nation...The day Vinesh qualified for finals the country was happy but the next day everyone was sad. At that time, one IT Cell was celebrating," he added.

Earlier in the day, Congress Haryana spokesperson, Kewal Dhingra confirmed that Vinesh Phogat and Bajrang Punia will be joining the party today. However, he said that the decision whether they will be contesting the Haryana Assembly Election will be taken on the winnability factor.

"Today they (Bajrang Punia and Vinesh Phogat) will be joining Congress at the residence of Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge. The central and state leadership of BJP stood with Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh. The international players were humiliated at the Jantar mantar in Delhi. They were victims of torture and abuse. The central leadership of the party will decide whether they will contest the elections considering factors like winnability," Kewal Dhingra said.

Both Vinesh Phogat and Bajrang met former Congress president Rahul Gandhi on Wednesday. The Congress had put out a photograph of Gandhi with Phogat and Punia on its official X handle. Punia is a Tokyo Games bronze medallist, while Phogat became the first woman wrestler to reach the Olympics final, the stage where she was disqualified after being found overweight by about 100 gm in her 50-kg category weigh-in. She subsequently announced her retirement from the sport.