The prolonged protest by wrestlers, and the government’s apparent hesitation to engage with them may have had an adverse effect on the popularity of the BJP-ruled government and Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
Despite the protest now appearing to fizzle out, with protesting wrestlers rejoining their government jobs and the government engaging in talks, the delay in arriving at a resolution may have already done the damage for the BJP. Murmurs of discontent were apparent when some from within the BJP began to question the government’s silence as much as a week ago.
The findings of a new survey only reassert what the BJP leaders had feared. According to an exclusive CVoter survey for IANS, 68.3 per cent of respondents overall felt that Prime Minister Modi should intervene in this dispute.
Former Union minister Birender Singh is among the few Haryana BJP leaders to have come out openly in support of the protesting wrestlers. Speaking to The Indian Express, Birender Singh said that he has apprised party president JP Nadda that the issue would hurt the party’s credibility.
“I met our party chief, twice. On both times, I told him the party should not treat this as an issue concerning wrestlers from one state. It is a matter of grave concern and the party’s credibility is at stake. I requested him [Nadda] to intervene, talk to the Sports Ministry or whoever can resolve the issue amicably, at the earliest. I said we talk about women’s empowerment, so we should act on it,” he told IE.
Birender Singh, who also went to Jantar Mantar and met the wrestlers, said that he told Nadda that the issue needs to be addressed and the voice of the wrestlers should be heard even if it is perceived that the wrestlers are acting at the behest of a political party. Earlier, Haryana Home Minister Anil Vij, also offered to convey the wrestlers’ demands to “the highest level within the party”.
The wrestlers’ protest so far
Top Indian wrestlers have been protesting on the streets of Delhi since January over the lack of action against their federation chief Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh, whom they accuse of sexual harassment.
The sit-in protest at Jantar Mantar began on January 18 when the wrestlers levelled allegations of sexual harassment against Brij Bhushan, who is also a parliamentarian from Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).
After an assurance that the Central Government will form a committee to look into the allegations, the stir was called off in January. Brij Bhushan was at that time stripped of all administrative powers by the sports ministry.
Olympic medallists Sakshi Malik and Bajrang Punia and Asian Games champion Vinesh Phogat are the protest’s faces.
The wrestlers resumed their sit-in protest at Jantar Mantar on April 23, citing a delay from the government in releasing the report of the committee that looked into the allegations of sexual harassment against Brij Bhushan, loss of faith in the committee, and the absence of action against Singh, of which they had been assured in January. The athletes said that seven female wrestlers, including a minor, filed a sexual harassment complaint against Singh at the Connaught Place police station but Delhi Police has not registered an FIR.
They demanded police register an FIR against Singh based on the complaint and asked the Ministry to make public the findings of the Oversight Committee.
The wrestlers also moved Supreme Court and sought its intervention.
The Delhi Police, which falls under the Union Home Ministry, filed two FIRs and ten complaints of molestation against the WFI chief hours after the Supreme Court ordered them to do so.
The complaints were registered on April 21, and the FIRs were filed on April 28 at Delhi’s Connaught Place police station.
Brij Bhushan has denied all the charges and said he will hang himself even if a single allegation is proven against him.
Meanwhile, Malik, Bajrang and Phogat were served with showcause notices by their employer, Northern Railway, on May 27 and asked to rejoin work. Malik joined her Baroda House office in New Delhi on May 31. Punia and Phogat too resumed their duties soon after. All three hold the rank of Officer on Special Duty.
On May 28, when Punia, Phogat and Malik along with other protestors tried to march to the new Parliament building during its inauguration by Prime Minister Modi, they were stopped on their way by security personnel and a scuffle broke out. The top athletes were dragged and lifted by the police and taken into detention.
Subsequently, the Delhi Police cleared off tents, mattresses and other items from the protest site at Jantar Mantar and barred wrestlers from demonstrating at the spot.
This led to an outpour of support not only from former cricketers Anil Kumble and Irfan Pathan, but also from a section of the BJP in Haryana in view of the approaching elections in the state and the Lok Sabha polls. Also, Malik, Phogat and Punia — are all from Haryana.
The three athletes had also met Union Home Minister Amit Shah at his residence on Saturday night.
“It was a normal conversation. No final solution has emerged. Our stance will remain the same: arrest the accused,” Malik told reporters after their meeting with Shah.
“Vinesh, Bajrang and I are together in this fight and till we get justice, we will remain united,” Malik added.